Cologne vs. Slovácko: Preview and betting tips

Slovácko will play Cologne in the second match of the group stage of the Conference Europa League. In the opening match against Partizan Belgrade, Martin Svedik’s charges even led, but in the end they only drew with the Serbian side. So will Slovácko manage to get the first three points in the group table against their German opponents?

The team from Uherské Hradiště has played five matches in the European Cups so far this season. Two in the preliminary round of the Europa League against Fenerbahce (0::3, 1::1), two more in the preliminary round of the Conference League against AIK Stockholm (3::0, 1::0) and the last one was played by Slovácko against Partizan Belgrade (3::3).

It is safe to say that the opening match of the Conference League regular season did not go as Slovácko expected. Coach Svědík’s team was already leading 2:0 after 19 minutes, when Jan Kalabiška scored both times.

Visiting midfielder Kristijan Belic even received a red card in the 22nd minute. However, Slovácko did not take advantage of the numerical superiority, as Partizan turned the score to 3:2 and Libor Kozák equalised in the 83rd minute.

Kozák and his team not only did not keep the lead, but even had to make up the one-goal deficit at the end of the match. They didn’t fix their mood in the league either, as they drew 1-1 at Mladá Boleslav on Sunday 11 September.

Slovácko have not won once in the last 5 matches, the last time they could enjoy a win was on 25 August, when they beat AIK 1:0 in Stockholm. That game was followed by losses to Liberec and Plzeň, plus draws against Slavia, Partizan and Mlada Boleslav.

Cologne have won twice in their last five matches. Slovácko’s German rivals first managed a duel on Fehérvár’s soil (3: 0), then split points with Stuttgart, but then beat Wolfsburg (4: 2), on their territory.

However, Cologne also failed to win their first group match, drawing (1: 1) against Nice. And the last time, Steffen Baumgart’s side lost to Union Berlin (0:1) on home turf.

In this case, it was a clash between two undefeated Bundesliga teams. As a result of this defeat, the home team dropped to seventh place in the table, while Union rose to the top of the competition.

Cologne also has a very erratic performance, with little experience of clubs from our top competition. Cologne’s only double match with a Czech club was in 1985/86, when they beat Bohemians 8-2 on aggregate and subsequently reached the UEFA Cup final.

Sources: 1. FC Slovácko, UEFA