Bayer Leverkusen have a chance of securing the top spot in the Bundesliga when they host FC Koln on Sunday. This game is significant for both teams at both ends of the table. The visitors have only one point from their first six games and are at the bottom of the standings.
Preview (Bayer Leverkusen vs. FC Koln)
Leverkusen has made significant progress since hiring Xabi Alonso as manager a little over a year ago. The German team looks ready to contend for the Bundesliga title this year. They have picked up five victories and a draw against the defending champions Bayern Munich. This position may alter before Die Werkself’s home game against Koln on Sunday afternoon. Leverkusen is only three points behind Stuttgart, Borussia Dortmund, and RB Leipzig.
Leverkusen’s team has amassed comfortable three-goal margin victories against Heidenheim and Mainz 05 since drawing 2-2 away to Bayern when Leverkusen displayed great spirit to come from behind on two occasions at the Allianz Arena. They have also thwarted Hacken and Molde in the Europa League to start that competition off to a perfect start. Leverkusen should be able to compete on all three fronts throughout the season based on their current performance. Alonso will want to keep his team grounded so that their winning streak can last as long as possible.
Koln, on the other hand, has had a dreadful start to the season. Steffen Baumgart’s team’s lone point came from a 1-1 draw away at Eintracht Frankfurt at the beginning of September. They will head to Leverkusen at the bottom of the table following six losses. Mainz 05 passed them on Friday night with a point against Borussia Monchengladbach. The most recent defeat for the Billy Goats occurred last Saturday. They suffered a 2-0 loss at home to high-flying Stuttgart. Former Brighton & Hove Albion striker Deniz Undav came off the bench to score a brace for the visitors.
Team News
Alonso hopes that Arthur, Timothy Fosu-Mensah, and Patrik Schick will be healthy enough to play again after the forthcoming international break, but Leverkusen will continue to be without them due to injury. With six goals in six league games, Victor Boniface, who joined from Union Saint-Gilloise during the summer transfer window, has filled Schick’s offensive shoes brilliantly. He will be the line leader in what is most likely the same starting XI from the victory over Mainz last Saturday. Eric Martel, Jan Thielmann, Noah Katterbach, Mathias Olesen, Mark Uth, and Florian Dietz will not be traveling for Koln due to injuries, while Benno Schmitz is also questionable owing to a muscular issue.
Baumgart has fewer choices than he would like to help turn the tide, but considering the challenging nature of his team’s forthcoming game, it is almost probable that he will substitute striker Steffen Tigges for a midfielder. We anticipate Leverkusen to finish the weekend with a comfortable win so that they can enter the forthcoming international break at the top of the table, despite having substantially less recovery time than Koln due to their European involvement on Thursday evening. Given that they have been a reliable team since Baumgart’s hiring more than two years ago, Koln’s dismal performance thus far this season has been rather unexpected; yet, they seem destined for a challenging campaign this time around, in stark contrast to their high-flying opponents under Alonso.
Bayer Leverkusen 3 – 0 FC Koln
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