Bayer Leverkusen vs Cologne

BayArena is the venue as high-flying Bayer Leverkusen continue their pursuit of a top-six Bundesliga finish against Cologne.

With a mouth-watering Europa League semi-final tie against Roma waiting in the wings, Bayer Leverkusen will relish their rich vein of form, having avoided defeat in their last 14 outings in all competitions (W10, D4). Lifting the second-most prominent European title could be Leverkusen’s only route into next season’s Champions League after a scoreless draw at Union Berlin last time out left them eight points behind the Bundesliga top four. Nonetheless, Xabi Alonso’s men have gone from strength to strength at the BayArena since a 3-2 loss to Mainz in mid-February, winning their last four home league matches, including three via multi-goal margins. It’s also worth noting that before succumbing to a 1-0 defeat in this corresponding fixture in 2021/22, ‘Die Werkself’ had won three consecutive top-flight H2Hs on home turf, highlighting their confidence going into this showdown.

On the other hand, visiting Cologne saw their decent-looking four-match unbeaten Bundesliga run (W2, D2) halted at the hands of Freiburg last weekend (0-1). But with seven points separating them from the relegation zone at the commencement of this round, the visitors are safe and sound in mid-table comforts, largely thanks to their mini-revival on the road. After going winless on ten Bundesliga travels between September 2022 and March 2023 (D4, L6), Steffen Bamugart’s men have won back-to-back games away from home via an identical 3-1 scoreline. Baumgart is on a personal mission here after managing just one win in his six previous touchline encounters against Leverkusen (D1, L4). Achieving that feat would see the ‘Billy Goats’ string together three straight away wins in the Bundesliga for the first time since 1996.