Bayern Munich vs Cologne Predictions, Betting Tips, & Match Preview

Bayern Munich just about maintained their 100% winning start to their Bundesliga season under Carlo Ancelotti with a 1-0 win away to the out-of-form Hamburg last weekend. The North Germans, arguably, gave the reigning champions their trickiest match of the campaign to date. While Ancelotti has plenty of world class players to choose from, one lesser known player has certainly been making a name for himself. Joshua Kimmich, a 21 year-old German midfielder, has built up a strong case to earn himself a place in the starting eleven. He scored the winner against Hamburg, assisted again by Frank Ribery, and has scored five goals over all competitive fixtures since early September (2 Bundesliga, 2 Champions League and 1 World Cup qualifier). Bayern come into this off the back of their first competitive defeat of the season under Carlo Ancelotti. The Bavarians were simply not clinical enough against Atletico Madrid in their UEFA Champions League group stage match on Wednesday, which saw them 1-0 behind at the final whistle.

Only three teams (Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Bayer Leverkusen) conceded fewer than Cologne in the 2015/2016 Bundesliga season, thrusting them into their best league finish in over 24 years. Cologne have made very few changes defensively over the transfer window, holding onto one of the Bundesliga’s best defences, something that has clearly paid off. Cologne have conceded the second fewest goals so far this season (2 goals), just one goal more than opponents Bayern Munich, conceding their second of the season in last Sunday’s 1-1 draw at home to RB Leipzig. With the signing of a few new midfielders and forwards (see team news) during the transfer window, coach Peter Stöger has ambitiously claimed that he now has one of the “best and most balanced squads” since he took charge – a confident attitude that resonates through Cologne’s play.

Though Bayern’s record against most teams in the Bundesliga is pretty stellar, we feel Cologne won’t do too badly holding their own against the reining champions here. Bayern’s “unconvincing” performance and last minute gasp win against Hamburg last weekend and deflating defeat to Atletico during the week showed signs of the general wear on a side always expected to win. Though Munich clearly have the squad depth to handle so many fixtures, Cologne are in peak form, confident and have one of the best defensive lineups in the Bundesliga. Bayern have “only” won half of their matches by three goals or more, even when playing at their best. Most would agree that Bayern haven’t been as invincible as they usually seem over the few days. We feel a decent handicap on the visitors should be more than enough here. Cologne haven’t lost by a margin greater than two since their last trip to the Allianz Arena in October 2015 and they are a much stronger side this time around.

As such, Cologne +2.0 Asian Handicap at 2.075 and a 0-0 draw at 20/1 with bet365 are our choice bets for this match.