Cologne will be hoping to put their Bundesliga struggles to one side when they host Arsenal in a crunch UEFA Europa League Group H encounter on Thursday (kick-off 19:00 CET/18:00 GMT).
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The Billy Goats slipped to a 1-0 defeat in Mainz on Saturday, a 10th league loss this season that leaves them winless and rooted to the bottom of the Bundesliga standings. However, they can take heart from their last outing in Europe, a cathartic 5-2 thrashing over BATE Borisov. Cologne took some 20,000 fans to London for the reverse fixture, and they were rewarded with Jhon Cordoba scoring one of the European goals of the season early on, although they eventually succumbed to a 3-1 defeat. Nonetheless, a win on Thursday would keep the Billy Goats in contention to reach the knock-out stages.
For their part, Arsenal are sixth in the English Premier League following a 2-0 win over city rivals Tottenham Hotspur at the weekend, and only need a draw here to confirm their status as group winners, with a ticket to the the round of 32 already guaranteed.
Watch: Cologne goalkeeper Timo Horn relives his greatest save, against Bayern Munich!
Probable line-ups
Cologne: T. Horn – Klünter, Maroh, Sörensen, Rausch – Jojic, Lehmann (c), Clemens, Bittencourt – Cordoba, Guirassy
Absentees: Hector (knee)
Coach: Peter Stöger
Arsenal: Ospina – Elneny, Debuchy, Holding – Nelson, Willock, Coquelin, Maitland-Niles – Wilshire, Walcott (c) - Welbeck
Absentees: Cazorla (foot), Giroud (groin)
Coach: Arsene Wenger
Match stats Live updates
Source: bundesliga.com