Cologne were the better side for much of this match, and the manner in which the winning goal came about will be extremely bitter from their perspective. As a result, they lose away from home once again and slip to third place, while Hamburg can even increase the gap to four points tomorrow. The Billy Goats seemed devoid of ideas throughout, having scored only five times in their seven matches since the winter break.

The visitors are trying to make use of the final moments, but it's just not meant to be tonight. Karlsruhe, as they have done throughout the entire match, are relying completely on their fighting spirit.

Effzeh have four minutes left to try and take at least a point from this match.

The final minutes are ticking away are Cologne are opening up at the back. Waldschmidt is now storming forward in place of Ljubicic, as they aim to become even more offensive.

In the last few minutes, there have been plenty of interruptions. Kaufmann sees yellow for a dive, while Hübers is also cautioned. Kainz can only be stopped by a tackle, but the resulting free-kick from a good 20 metres is hit into the wall.

Cologne have regained control of the match. However, they're still lacking that spark. Burnić fouls Kainz, resulting in another set-piece opportunity.

Cologne are still yet to play out a goalless draw this term.

Will we see some goals now?

In the meeting between these teams in Cologne earlier this season, we saw the highest-scoring first half of this campaign with six goals, but today both sides have kept a clean sheet.

Both teams are making plenty of mistakes. Just before the break, neither side are taking any major risks. At the back, the ball is being played around by Cologne between Schwäbe and Martel.

We will have four additional minutes.

Whether in terms of shots on goal, possession, tackles, even sprints and pass completion rate - there is nothing between the two teams.

After a frantic start, things have calmed down as we approach the half-hour mark. Cologne are still pushing forward, but there haven't been any goal-scoring opportunities in the last few minutes.

The match begins with a drive towards goal. Ljubicic crosses from the right and Downs follows up immediately but is stopped just before he can finish. At the other end, Schleusener is offside as he shoots after a counter. Kobald sees yellow right at the start for stopping Maina with a foul during a break.

We are underway at the Wildpark.

For Cologne, Jan Thielmann is back in the squad after suspension, but is a substitute. For the hosts, David Herold returns to the squad, although Lasse Günther is preferred on the left. Recently signed from Cologne, Meiko Wäschenbach is absent against his former club.

The visitors make three changes, meanwhile. Damion Downs leads the attack in place of Imad Rondić, while Max Finkgräfe replaces the suspended Leart Paqarada on the left. Eric Martel also returns to fitness after missing two matches, taking Mathias Olesen's spot in the team.

Karlsruhe make just one change to the team that beat Magdeburg - Dzenis Burnić returns to the team after serving his yellow-card suspension, replacing Robin Heußer from the starting eleven.

Schwäbe - Hübers, Schmied, Heintz - Gazibegović, Martel, Kainz, Finkgräfe - Ljubicic, Maina - Downs

Weiß - Kobald, Franke, Beifus - Jung, Rapp, Günther - Burnić, Wanitzek - Schleusener, Kaufmann

"Two teams in good spirits will meet each other, offering the spectators in the stadium and those watching on screens a similar spectacle to the first meeting, at least in terms of quality."

"The departure of Zivzivadze has certainly had an impact. At the same time, there are many other guys who have a lot of quality. It's a team that has played successful football for a long time with clear patterns. Due to their results crisis, they have switched to a back three. This has created new patterns for them. Against Magdeburg, they did a lot of things right. You can see their individual quality, but also how they defend well as a team and have mentality. It will be a difficult task. When we're at 100 percent and get into our rhythm, we know how tough it is to play against us. That's why our focus is primarily on ourselves."

Eichner played for Cologne from early 2011 to summer 2013 and was relegated from the Bundesliga with them in 2012.

The last Karlsruhe victory against Effzeh dates back to 5 March 2007. In Bundesliga 2, Karlsruhe won 2-1 at home that day. The managers were Ede Becker and Christoph Daum, while current Karlsruhe sporting director Sebastian Freis scored the opener. Current head coach Christian Eichner was still playing for the victors on that occasion.

Cologne are unbeaten in five competitive matches against Karlsruhe and have lost only one of their last 11 competitive fixtures against them. The last time Cologne visited the Wildpark was in October 2013, when they won 2-1.

The meeting between the teams earlier this season was one of the most spectacular matches in the Bundesliga 2 this season. Cologne led 3-0 after 15 minutes, but by the hour mark it was 4-4 thanks in part to Marvin Wanitzek's hat-trick. It remained that way until the end.

Welcome along and thanks for joining us for build-up and live coverage of this Matchday 24 fixture between Karlsruhe and Cologne.