An exciting game to start the season goes into the break - and HSV are leading not entirely undeservedly. The guests took advantage of a mistake by Urbig for the early lead and then countered their way to 2-0, with two-goal scorer Königsdörffer particularly shining. Will Cologne find a way back?

The teams are coming onto the pitch, the club anthem is blaring out around the stadium.

Davie Selke last played on 6 April in Cologne's 2-1 win against Bochum. His last match in Bundesliga 2 dates back to 15 May 2016, which was a 1-0 defeat for Leipzig in Duisburg.

In pre-season, Cologne could rely on a prolific striking duo in Tim Lemperle and Damion Downs, while HSV are missing Davie Selke (the former Cologne player at least made the squad) and Robert Glatzel in the starting XI. Glatzel has been at HSV since summer 2021, and is now missing a Bundesliga 2 match for only the third time as a Hamburg player. Last season, he was missing from the starting XI four times in Bundesliga 2, resulting in two wins and two draws.

Tim Lemperle and Damion Downs are both starting for the first time in a competitive match for the FC first team.

Julian Pauli, 19, is making his first competitive appearance for the Cologne first team. Thanks to some good performances in pre-season, the youngster has earned himself a starting place in the centre of defence. Goalkeeper Jonas Urbig also plays his first competitive match for the Cologne first team.

With Matheo Raab not fit, Daniel Heuer Fernandes begins in goal for HSV. He last played on 3 February in the 2-1 win at Hertha Berlin, making this his first competitive match under head coach Steffen Baumgart.

Heuer Fernandes - Reis, Hadžikadunić, Schonlau (c), Muheim, Elfadli, Meffert, Karabec, Jatta, Königsdörffer, Dompé

Urbig - Thielmann, Hübers (c), Pauli, Paqarada, Martel, Ljubicic, Huseinbašić, Waldschmidt, Downs, Lemperle

Cologne has already been promoted to the Bundesliga six times in its club history, however, Nuremberg holds the record for most promotions with eight. Cologne last managed this in the 2018/19 season, while opponents Hamburg have not bounced back since their relegation in 2017-18.

Together, the two clubs have won nine German championships: Hamburg took home the trophy six times, Cologne three times. The last time Hamburg won the title was in 1983, for Cologne it was 1978.

"We are looking forward to getting started again! Of course this is a special match, because I had a great time in Cologne. But now it's all about HSV! And that's exactly how we want to go there and then perform accordingly. Cologne sees itself in the upper part of the table and belongs there too. So it will be an exciting match."

"This will be a positioning check for us. We know the strength of HSV and have analysed them very closely. Now we want to see how we perform against one of the league favourites. What more could you want! Pure anticipation, there's a tingle and the team is looking forward to a floodlit match in front of our fans. We are ready!"

Both sides will be looking to start their campaign off with a win as they both look to return to the Bundesliga. For Cologne an immediate return would be ideal, while Hamburg have found the Bundesliga 2 a tough league to climb out of since their relegation from the Bundesliga in the 2017-18 season.

This fixture will reunite old friends, as former Cologne coach Steffen Baumgart returns to the Rheinenergie Stadion alongside their former striker Davie Selke, who was a part of last season's squad that suffered relegation to the Bundesliga 2.

Welcome along and thanks for joining us for build-up and live coverage of this Matchday 1 fixture between 1. FC Köln and Hamburger SV.