Arsenal approach this meeting with a mixed mood. On the one hand, the Gunners flew out of the Europa League, losing to Olympiakos (1: 2), and on the other, Mikel Arteta’s wards started winning in England. Arsenal have won both previous Premier League games, beating Newcastle (4:0) and Everton (3:2). Two victories in a row in championship the “Gunners” got only the second time in a season. In addition, in the middle of this week Arteta’s team made their way to the next round of the FA Cup, beating Portsmouth (2:0). What Arsenal fans clearly should be pleased with is the improved statistics of their favorites at Emirates. Earlier this season, the Gunners had trouble winning their field. To this meeting, Arsenal comes up with a four-match unbeaten series at home, during which the wards of Arteta earned ten points. The Gunners defeated Manchester United (2:0), Newcastle (4:0) and Everton (3:2) and draw with Sheffield (1:1). Arsenal injured Lucas Torreira, Sead Kolasinac and Calum Chambers. The participation of Cedric Soares, Kieran Tierney and Shkodran Mustafi is in question.
Koln has long been in the neighborhood of Paderborn and was considered one of the main contenders for the departure, but the situation was overturned by Marcus Gizdol. At the finish of the first round of the “goat” gradually began to win and in the second part of the championship put victories on the stream, having managed to get out of the departure zone and move away from it to a safe distance. So far the “goats” are in 11th place with 29 points in assets, having a gap of eight points from the transition zone, which already allows the team to look optimistically into the future. In the last round, Koln, despite all predictions, crushed with a score of 3: 0 Schalke – for the “goats” this is the third victory in the last four matches. Rafael Czichos, Christian Clemens and Thomas Kessler will not play.