Preview: FC Koln vs. Nice - prediction, team news, lineups

The visitors, meanwhile, will progress with a point, while a win would guarantee them top spot in Group D.

Match preview

Koln kept their hopes of reaching the knockout stages of a European competition for the first time in more than 25 years alive by beating FC Slovacko 1-0 away from home last Friday.

The match was pushed back one day due to heavy fog descending in Uherske Hradiste, Czech Republic, on Thursday evening, with Ondrej Duda's 82nd-minute penalty proving crucial in the end.

Head coach Steffen Baumgart must be concerned about fatigue setting in among his players, though, having been forced to play barely more than 48 hours later against Hoffenheim in the Bundesliga on Sunday, with his side earning a creditable 1-1 draw given the circumstances.

They will need more than that in what will be their third match in seven days when they face Nice on Thursday, though, with a victory required due to their head-to-head record against Partizan - who are one point ahead of them in the group - being inferior having lost both matches against the Serbian SuperLiga champions.

Nice, meanwhile, moved into pole position in Group A after Nicolas Pepe and Mario Lemina both struck in a 2-1 win against Partizan last Thursday.

However, Lucien Favre's side's job is far from being down yet ahead of their trip to Cologne, where they must avoid defeat in order to progress, unless the already eliminated Slovacko can do them a huge favour by beating Partizan in Belgrade.

Having put together an unbeaten run of four league games to move up to 10th in Ligue 1, Favre is slowly turning things around after enduring a dismal start to his second spell at the club having rejoined them during the summer after a successful two-year stint between 2016 and 2018.

There were strong rumours throughout September that the 64-year-old was already set to lose his job, but the former Borussia Dortmund boss has clung on for now, and advancing to the knockout stages of the Europa Conference League would only serve to further strengthen his position.

FC Koln Europa Conference League form:

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D

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FC Koln form (all competitions):

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Nice Europa Conference League form:

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Nice form (all competitions):

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Team News

Koln's fixture pile-up appears to have taken its toll on the squad in terms of injuries, with Ellyes Skhiri, Jonas Hector, Dejan Ljubicic, Tim Lemperle, Sebastian Andersson, Julian Chabot, Florian Dietz and Mathias Olesen all major doubts for Thursday's crucial tie.

Jan Thielmann missed the weekend's draw against Hoffenheim due to a virus and is unlikely to recover in time for the visit of Nice, with Baumgart unlikely to make many changes given the lack of options at his disposal.

However, Luca Kilian will almost certainly replace Nikola Soldo at the heart of the defence having missed out on Sunday due to suspension, while Kingsley Schindler and Sargis Adamyan will hope to earn recalls to the starting XI.

Nice, meanwhile, will travel without the suspended Jean-Clair Todibo after his straight red card in the shock defeat to Slovacko on matchday four, with Pablo Rosario potentially set to be asked to drop back into defence once again after impressing alongside Dante against Partizan last week.

Marcin Bulka, Andy Delort and Sofiane Diop are all injury doubts and therefore unlikely to be risked, while former Arsenal midfielder Aaron Ramsey may have to settle for a spot on the substitutes' bench.

FC Koln possible starting lineup:

Schwabe; Schindler, Kilian, Hubers, Pedersen; Huseinbasic, Duda, Martel, Kainz; Adamyan, Tigges

Nice possible starting lineup:

Schmeichel; Attal, Rosario, Dante, Bard; Boudaoui, Lemina, Thuram, Brahimi; Pepe, Laborde

We say: FC Koln 1-2 Nice

We think the quick turnaround between games could catch up with Koln, whose amount of injuries significantly reduces Baumgart's ability to rotate his players' tired legs.

Nice have gradually improved in recent weeks and clearly have more power in midfield, which could prove crucial to helping them advance to the knockout stages at their opponents' expense.

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