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Bundesliga | Gameweek 12
Dec 16, 2020 at 7.30pm UK
RheinEnergieStadion
LL

FC Koln
0 - 4
B. Leverkusen


Horn (34')
FT(HT: 0-2)
Weiser (8'), Diaby (10'), Schick (54'), Wirtz (59')
Dragovic (54')

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

:Headline: Preview: FC Koln vs. Bayer Leverkusen - prediction, team news, lineups: ID:426499: from db_amp
Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Bundesliga clash between FC Koln and Bayer Leverkusen, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

FC Koln entertain Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga on Wednesday, with the visitors travelling to Cologne as league leaders.

Koln, meanwhile, put three points between themselves and the relegation zone with a vital 1-0 win at fellow strugglers Mainz 05.


Match preview

Koln's victory at Mainz was made all the more impressive by former Norwich City loanee Ondrej Duda being sent off for them, with around 15 minutes still remaining for the hosts to find an equaliser.

After a quiet first period, Elvis Rexhbecaj fired Markus Gisdol's side ahead ten minutes after the break, before Duda saw red to allow Mainz back into the game. However, Koln held on to secure a vital three points.

Hosting the current league leaders will be a completely different kettle of fish, but Gisdol and his players will take confidence from the fact they have beaten Borussia Dortmund and held Wolfsburg to a draw in recent weeks to embark on a three match unbeaten run.

Having remained competitive in almost every match this season, Koln's luck appears to have swung in their favour after rather unfortunately losing five of their opening eight matches. Gisdol must ensure standards do not slip, however, to minimise their chances of sliding back into the bottom three.

Leverkusen, meanwhile, are absolutely flying at present, having remained unbeaten in the league all season and winning nine of their last 10 matches in all competitions.

With qualification for the knockout stages of the Europa League as group winners wrapped up, Peter Bosz can now fully focus on attempting to keep his side at the top of the table.

His side certainly looked like potential title winners when dispatching Hoffenheim 4-1 on Sunday, with Leon Bailey's first-half brace giving the hosts a commanding lead heading into the break.

Florian Wirtz quickly restored Leverkusen's two-goal lead after Christoph Baumgartner had pulled one back five minutes into the second half, with Florian Grillitsch and Stefan Posch both receiving second yellow cards to seal another Leverkusen victory long before Lucas Alario's last-minute penalty.

With Koln coming into form of late, Bosz will be guarding against complacency ahead of the trip to Cologne, with a win ensuring his side will face Bayern Munich on Saturday as league leaders.

FC Koln Bundesliga form: LDLWDW

Bayer Leverkusen Bundesliga form: WWWDWW
Bayer Leverkusen form (all competitions): WDWWWW


Team News

Koln will be without the suspended Duda, with Florian Kainz (knee) and Jonas Hector (neck) remaining out through injury.

Anthony Modeste returned to action from the substitutes' bench in the win at Mainz, so could come into the side for Duda.

Leverkusen's form has been all the more impressive considering the amount of long-term absentees they have, with Exequiel Palacios, Santiago Arias, Sven Bender, Paulinho and Charles Aranguiz all on the treatment table.

Kerem Demirbay is also unavailable due to coronavirus, but Bosz does at least finally have both Alario and Patrik Schick simultaneously available, with the latter perhaps set to be rested for the weekend's crunch match against Bayern.

FC Koln possible starting lineup:
T. Horn; Cestic, Bornauw, J. Horn; Wolf, Jakobs, Skhiri, Ozcan, Rexhbecaj; Thielmann, Modeste

Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Bender, Tah, Dragovic, Sinkgraven; Wirtz, Baumgartlinger, Amiri; Bailey, Alario, Diaby


We say: FC Koln 1-2 Bayer Leverkusen

Koln have rarely been well beaten this season and we do not expect that to change on Wednesday even against the league leaders.

However, Leverkusen are playing with real confidence and belief at present, and should have a little too much quality for their opponents.


Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting under 3.5 goals in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Under 3.5:data




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Premier League Table
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Bayer LeverkusenB. Leverkusen26224066184870
2Bayern MunichBayern26193478314760
3Stuttgart26182660312956
4Borussia DortmundDortmund26148453322150
5RB Leipzig26154760322849
6Eintracht FrankfurtFrankfurt26101064235740
7Augsburg269894342135
8Hoffenheim2696114450-633
9Freiburg2696113648-1233
10Werder Bremen2686123541-630
11Heidenheim2678113544-929
12Borussia MonchengladbachBorussia M'bach26610104650-428
13Union BerlinUnion Berlin2684142542-1728
14Wolfsburg2667133144-1325
15VfL BochumVfL Bochum26510113054-2425
16Mainz 05Mainz26310132246-2419
17FC Koln2639142047-2718
18SV Darmstadt 98Darmstadt2627172665-3913
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