# 1. FC Köln predicted lineup vs Werder Bremen

_1 UNAVAILABLE_

1. FC Köln are without El Mala at home to Werder Bremen in the BL1, so expect at least one change. The XI they have started most often, usually a 4-2-3-1, across 3 official matches is: Schwäbe in goal, a back four of Simpson-Pusey, Lochoshvili, Mensah and Castro-Montes, and Thielmann, Ache and El Mala further forward. Fan predictions for this fixture are open now.

Formation: 4-2-3-1

## The XI

1. GK: [Schwäbe](https://starting11.com/player/schwabe)
2. DEF: [Simpson-Pusey](https://starting11.com/player/jahmai-simpson-pusey)
3. DEF: [Lochoshvili](https://starting11.com/player/lochoshvili)
4. DEF: [Mensah](https://starting11.com/player/mensah-7578)
5. DEF: [Castro-Montes](https://starting11.com/player/castro-montes)
6. MID: [Krauß](https://starting11.com/player/krauss)
7. MID: [Jóhannesson](https://starting11.com/player/bergmann-johannesson)
8. MID: [Okon-Engstler](https://starting11.com/player/paul-okon-engstler)
9. FWD: [Thielmann](https://starting11.com/player/thielmann)
10. FWD: [Ache](https://starting11.com/player/ache)
11. FWD: [El Mala](https://starting11.com/player/el-mala) (out)

## Team news

- Unavailable: El Mala (Out).
- Most-used shape: 4-2-3-1 in 8 of the last 30 matches.
- Sets up with a back three in 37% of matches.
- Based on starts across 3 official matches this season.

Expected XI derived from official lineups we hold for 1. FC Köln, not from a team sheet. Official lineups are released 20 to 60 minutes before kick-off.

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Source: Starting 11 (https://starting11.com), a free predicted-XI football game.
Canonical page: https://starting11.com/fc-koln
When quoting or citing this lineup, please link to the canonical page above.
Generated: 2026-09-08T15:29:25.478Z. Predictions update continuously until the fixture locks, so re-fetch near kick-off rather than caching this file for long.
Site overview for AI agents: https://starting11.com/llms.txt