FC Koln will be looking to record successive victories when they host Mainz 05 in the Bundesliga on Sunday.
The visitors, meanwhile, saw their unbeaten run of four matches come to an end at the hands of Freiburg last weekend.
Although the match had all the makings of a relegation scrap with minimal quality on display for the most part, Steffen Baumgart's side produced the more accomplished performance, as they forced opposition goalkeeper Marcel Schuhen into five saves. They also enjoyed more possession despite playing away from home at Stadion am Bollenfalltor, making their win a deserved one in the end.
It was a crucial victory, too, as it moved Koln directly above Darmstadt on goal difference, and outside of the relegation positions in the process. Having collected just one point from their opening seven matches, Baumgart and his players may feel that their season truly began in Darmstadt, and they can now look to begin to climb the table.
Their match against Mainz at RheinEnergieStadion will represent the first of three matches before the upcoming winter break in Germany, with the last of those being against another team currently in the relegation zone in the form of Union Berlin. As such, Koln have clear opportunities to ensure that they do not spend Christmas below the dreaded dotted lines in the table.
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