Manuel Baum's FC Augsburg host Lukas Kwasniok's 1. FC Köln at the WWK Arena on Friday evening, with the hosts sitting 10th in the Bundesliga on 28 points and their visitors four points behind in 12th. Augsburg enter as the clear home favourites, carrying momentum from a strong run of results, while Köln arrive as a newly promoted side still searching for the consistency needed to pull clear of the bottom half.
Augsburg are in excellent form across their last five outings, winning four of them. Last Saturday they delivered arguably their most dramatic result of the run, coming from behind to win 3-2 at Wolfsburg with a stoppage-time VAR-awarded penalty sealing the comeback. Their only blip was a 0-2 defeat at Mainz in early February, sandwiched between wins over Heidenheim, St. Pauli, and Bayern München. Under Baum, the side has developed a resilient streak, grinding out results even when under pressure. Across their last five, they have scored 8 goals and conceded 6, showing genuine threat at both ends.
Köln's form tells a different story. They have taken just two points from their last four league games, with their sole win in that stretch coming at the start of February against Wolfsburg. Last Saturday they were held to a 2-2 draw at home by Hoffenheim after failing to hold their lead, and they have lost back-to-back games on the road before that — 1-3 at Stuttgart and 1-2 at RB Leipzig at home. Kwasniok's side have shipped goals freely in recent weeks, conceding in each of their last five matches, and only a run of 6W-6D in their 23 games so far keeps them off the bottom half of the table.
In 26 all-time meetings, Augsburg and Köln are perfectly balanced at 8 wins apiece, with 10 draws. Earlier this season the reverse fixture at the RheinEnergieStadion finished 1-1, continuing a recent pattern of closely contested encounters between the sides. Across all 22 data-tracked meetings, both teams scored in 59% of games, averaging 2.36 goals per match — a consistent trend that supports the idea goals will arrive from both directions whenever these clubs meet.
My prediction is Both Teams To Score at 1.57. Augsburg have scored in each of their last five and conceded in four of them, while Köln have found the net in all five of their recent fixtures despite losing ground in the table. A historically balanced rivalry where BTTS has landed in nearly six out of ten meetings, combined with two sides that each carry attacking output alongside defensive vulnerability, makes this a well-grounded pick. The xG projection (1.48–1.33) supports a 2-1 finish.