Cologne can record routine victory over strugglers Duisburg

Bundesliga 2 Monday 7.30pm

Relegation and an exodus of players can have a detrimental affect on a club but Cologne have taken to Germany's second tier with ease.

The hosts have won six of their eight Bundesliga 2 fixtures this term and can inflict defeat on a struggling Duisburg outfit under new management.

Torsten Lieberknecht secured promotion to the top flight in his ten-year tenure with Eintracht Braunschweig but faces a different challenge in his new role in charge at Duisburg.

The visitors fell to a 3-1 defeat to Jahn Regensburg last time out, despite winning the shot count 27-16, and they have taken just two points from their first eight matches.

Cologne in comparison have been carving through sides in the lower echelons of the division, winning their last three against Sandhausen, Ingolstadt and Arminia.

A number of Cologne's bigger names - including Anthony Modeste, Leonardo Bittencourt, Yuya Osako and Dominique Heintz - left the club this summer but others have stepped up to the plate.

No Bundesliga 2 player has scored more than striker Simon Terrode's 12 goals this campaign, while goalkeeper Timo Horn and German international Jonas Hector have been solid at the back.

Cologne have notched 15 goals in their last five encounters and can make it a tricky start to Duisburg life for Lieberknecht.

Recommendation
Cologne & over 2.5 goals
2pts 10-11 Betway

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