Preview: Bayer Leverkusen vs FC Koln - prediction, team news, lineups

It is derby day in the Bundesliga as Saturday’s action culminates with one of the tastiest games on the calendar – Bayer Leverkusen against FC Koln.

Both teams have endured a slump in results, and both will be determined to snap their winless runs in their biggest game of the season so far.

Match preview

With seven victories from 10 meetings to their name, it is fair to say that Bayer Leverkusen have dominated this fixture in recent years.

The last clash between the two teams took place last February as Leverkusen dumped their arch-rivals out of the DFB-Pokal, winning the match in extra time.

Die Werkself did a season double over Koln last season, winning the home game 3-0 and the away fixture 2-0, underlining their recent dominance.

Leverkusen enter this latest meeting in pretty poor form, picking up just one win from four games and enduring a couple of frustrating league defeats.

Kasper Hjulmand’s side were beaten by Borussia Dortmund and Augsburg before playing out a 2-2 draw with Newcastle United in the Champions League.

FC Koln, on the other hand, have been in poor form for a number of weeks now.

The Billy Goats have won just two matches since August, with November’s 4-1 victory over Hamburger SV being their last success.

The pressure continues to grow on manager Lukas Kwasniok, and it ramps up with every poor result that follows.

Koln’s last two Bundesliga outings ended in draws, with Werder Bremen and St Pauli managing to pick up 1-1 results against the struggling Billy Goats.

Despite their poor run of results, Koln are still eighth in the standings and could pile pressure on their European-chasing rivals with a victory this Saturday night.

Bayer Leverkusen Bundesliga form:

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Bayer Leverkusen form (all competitions):

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FC Koln Bundesliga form:

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FC Koln form (all competitions):

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Team News

Leverkusen are still dealing with a number of injuries ahead of this weekend’s derby game.

Argentine midfielder Exequiel Palacios has been struggling with a groin injury for most of the season, and he remains on the sidelines.

Fellow Argentine star Ezequiel Fernandez is close to making his return from a knee problem, though Saturday’s match may come a little too soon for the 23-year-old.

Koln are not exempt from injury issues, and the visitors are also missing several players ahead of their short trip to the BayArena.

Dominique Heintz missed the match with St Pauli last weekend due to injury, and he remains a doubt.

Timo Hubers has been out of action for a couple of months with a knee issue, and he is expected to remain on the sidelines – the same goes for defender Luca Kilian.

Fellow defender Joel Schmied is also a doubt after picking up a thigh injury and missing his last two games for the club.

Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:

Flekken; Andrich, Bade, Tapsoba; Hofmann, Maza, Garcia, Grimaldo; Tillman, Poku; Schick

FC Koln possible starting lineup:

Schwabe; Sebulonsen, Martel, Van den Berg; Thielmann, Huseinbasic, Krauss, Kaminski; Waldschmidt, El Mala, Bulter

We say: Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 FC Koln

Drama is never far away when it comes to this classic Bundesliga derby, and we are expecting another fascinating show.

Leverkusen need to snap their winless run in order to keep pace in the race for the top four, and we are expecting them to get the job done against a poor Koln side.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.