Cologne – Karlsruhe

In the first half of the match there will be a lot of struggle and few goal-scoring chances

Undoubtedly, the centrepiece of the seventh round of the Second Bundesliga will take place in Cologne. Before the start of the season, the local club was considered almost the main favourite for the final first place, but a number of teams in the division started the championship better than the "goats". One of them is their upcoming opponent - Karlsruhe. The guests of the upcoming meeting unexpectedly shone with stability at the beginning of the season, managing to achieve a win or draw in all official matches of the football year. The perennial division runners-up have had successful streaks in the past, but rarely have they lasted for almost two months. This fact allows us to talk about Karlsruhe as a tough fighter, which needs the most serious attitude. Bookmakers have identified the home team as the favourites for the upcoming meeting, offering odds of 1.63 on their victory. After a poor start to the season, Cologne started winning in mid-August. When the "goats" with a convincing score were beaten by Braunschweig and Schalke, bookmakers immediately made them the key favourites for the championship. Last round's defeat to Magdeburg came as a thunderbolt. Cologne shot in the direction of the opponent's goal 33 times, but lost with the score 1:2. In the framework of the last round in Düsseldorf "goats" went with a desire to rehabilitate for the offensive defeat, but again stumbled, conceding on 90+5 minutes and did not reach the victory some seconds. In the first round of the championship Karlsruhe at home defeated Nuremberg, and then took away from Düsseldorf quite a valuable point. Following the cup win in mid-August, the team picked up three more league victories against Elfsberg, Braunschweig and Schalke. The successful streak has allowed Karlsruhe to sit at the top of the standings with Fortuna, even despite a draw in Magdeburg in the last round. On the one hand, it is obvious that Cologne at home after two consecutive misfires will be focused on attacking the opponent's goal and collecting three points. On the other hand, Karlsruhe have already proved their professionalism many times this season. We bet that the fight in the first half will be hard-fought and low-scoring.