Bundesliga · Matchday 7 
Our pick1–0Missed
Cologne's unbeaten run over Schalke puts Schalke on the back foot
Schalke arrive in Cologne 15th in the table and missing five players. The hosts, 12th, have not lost to their rivals in their last five meetings.
📍 RheinEnergieStadion
Match report
1. FC Köln and FC Schalke 04 played out a goalless 0-0 draw in round 7 of the Bundesliga. No goals were scored and no red cards were shown, so the scoreline stayed level until full time.
1. FC Köln had 62% of the possession to FC Schalke 04's 38%, and took 14 shots to their 9, with 5 on target to 1. Their expected goals figure of 1.29 compared with 0.66 for Schalke points to the home side's greater threat, but the Schalke goalkeeper made 4 saves to 1 for Köln. The top-rated player was L. Karius of FC Schalke 04, with a rating of 8.0. Before kickoff, PreviaXI's model had predicted a 1-0 home win, with probabilities of 51% for a home win, 25% for a draw and 24% for an away win.
Cards
- 45+2'Tom Krauß · 1. FC Köln
- 71'Junior Dina Ebimbe · FC Schalke 04
- 81'Luka Lochoshvili · 1. FC Köln
- 83'Vitalie Becker · FC Schalke 04
- 89'Hasan Kuruçay · FC Schalke 04
Match stats
⭐ Top-rated player: L. Karius (FC Schalke 04) 8
Ratings and statistics: API-Football.
Confirmed lineups
1. FC Köln · 4-2-3-1
- 1M. SchwäbeG
- 28S. SebulonsenD
- 22Jahmai Simpson-PuseyD
- 24L. LochoshviliD
- 3B. SosaD
- 8Í. Bergmann JóhannessonM
- 5T. KraußM
- 37L. MainaM
- 47M. MooreM
- 10S. El MalaM
- 30M. BülterF
Coach: René Wagner
FC Schalke 04 · 3-4-2-1
- 1L. KariusG
- 5T. BeckerD
- 25N. KatićD
- 4H. KuruçayD
- 29J. Dina EbimbeM
- 23S. El-FaouziM
- 13S. TanakaM
- 8R. GosensM
- 20J. AdamuM
- 24A. AouchicheM
- 7Hwang Hee-ChanF
Coach: M. Muslić
Match facts
Recent form
Last 5 league games, latest on the right
Goals per game
| · | Scored | Conceded |
|---|---|---|
| 1. FC Köln | 1.3 | 1.8 |
| FC Schalke 04 | 0.7 | 1.2 |
League position
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 1. FC Köln | 6 | -3 | 7 |
| 15 | FC Schalke 04 | 6 | -3 | 5 |
Last meetings
- 20251. FC Köln1-0FC Schalke 04
- 2024FC Schalke 041-31. FC Köln
- 2023FC Schalke 040-01. FC Köln
- 20221. FC Köln3-1FC Schalke 04
- 20221. FC Köln2-2FC Schalke 04
Absences
1. FC Köln
- OutT. Dallinga · Knee Injury
- OutT. Hubers · Knee Injury
- OutE. Skhiri · Ankle Injury
- OutR. van den Berg · Muscle Injury
- DoubtfulR. Ache · Thigh Injury
FC Schalke 04
- OutK. Karaman · Muscle Injury
- OutD. Ljubicic · Knee Injury
- OutR. Schallenberg · Leg Injury
- OutM. Sylla · Leg Injury
- OutM. Wober · Muscle Injury
PreviaXI model
- Predicted score
- 1-0
- Expected goals (model)
- 1.68 – 1.06
- Double chance
- 1X · 76%12 75% · X2 49%
- Over 2.5 goals
- 52%
- Both teams score
- 54%
- Expected corners
- 10.26.6 – 3.6 · Over 9.5: 56%
- Expected cards
- 3.92.1 – 1.8 · Over 3.5: 53%
Statistical model based on expected goals (xG), results and match statistics from the last two seasons. For information only. How our model works →
Schalke travel to the RheinEnergieStadion on Saturday in 15th place, with five points from six games and a goal difference of -3. They have been missing five players, a thinning squad that makes an away trip to a side just above them harder to plan for.
Two sides still searching for rhythm
Neither club has settled into the season. Köln sit 12th with seven points from six matches, and their recent results read like their table position: a win, a defeat, a draw, a defeat, then a win and a defeat again. At home, though, they have been more solid, winning twice and drawing once without a defeat in their three matches at the RheinEnergieStadion.
Schalke’s away record is harder to defend. They have won once on the road this season, losing twice, and their last five results have included as many defeats as wins. They have scored four times away from home but conceded seven, and their recent run of one win and one draw in five has offered little momentum.
Köln’s edge over their rivals
The story of this fixture is Köln’s dominance in recent meetings. In the last five encounters, Köln have not lost once: they have won three and drawn two. Their most recent win came in February 2025, a 1-0 home victory in the 2. Bundesliga, and they also beat Schalke 1-3 away in September 2024 and 3-1 at home in August 2022. The two draws, a goalless game at Schalke in January 2023 and a 2-2 friendly in Cologne in January 2022, show how close these clashes have often been.
Team news
Köln will be without T. Dallinga, T. Hubers, E. Skhiri and R. van den Berg, all ruled out through injury, while R. Ache is a doubt with a thigh problem. Schalke have an even longer list of absentees: K. Karaman, D. Ljubicic, R. Schallenberg, M. Sylla and M. Wober are all missing.
Our prediction
PreviaXI’s model favours Köln, and the football behind that lean makes sense. Köln’s home form and their control of this fixture in recent years give them the stronger hand, and they are likely to create the clearer chances. Schalke’s depleted squad and poor away record point to a tight game in which the hosts have the edge.
1. FC Köln 1-0 FC Schalke 04
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