The glorious Schalke returned to the elite division after just one season in Bundesliga II. The Gelsenkirchen-based club had been relegated so badly at the end of the 2020/2021 league season that it seemed a long time before we would see them on the same pitch as top sides. But the Pitmen's management coped with the stressful situation and Schalke returned to the Bundesliga from first place in the second division.

The formal league newcomer spent the off-season on a large-scale, but modestly named, transfer campaign. The team has signed a dozen players priced not more than two million euros, and released about the same number of inexpensive or free of charge players. Of the additions, two of Spartak Moscow's players, Kral and Larsson, who had their contracts with the Russian club terminated prematurely under a FIFA-implemented option. The visitors to the upcoming match played a large number of friendlies in July, and began their official season with a 1/32 final match against Bremer in the German Cup, in which they defeated their Oberliga opponents 5-0. Of course, the visit to Cologne cannot be put close to Schalke's cup "battle".

The hosts nearly got relegated the season before last season, but they have made some serious improvements. Last season, they stayed in the top half of the table, finishing seventh and claiming the Conference League spot. Cologne were not active on the transfer market during the off-season, most notably the loss of Salih Özdjan, the club's main central midfielder. Last week, Cologne went to a cup game in Regensburg, where they lost on penalties to the local representative of the Second Bundesliga.

In January this year, Schalke and Cologne met in a friendly that ended in a 2-2 draw. In the German championship matches, the Pitmen last beat their upcoming opponents in 2016, after which they have not picked up three points since a dozen games against Cologne. At home, the Pitmen are rightly regarded as favourites, and a German Cup exit will only exacerbate their mood for the upcoming match. Let's bet on a Cologne win.