Bayer Leverkusen vs FC Koln prediction: GERMANY: Bundesliga betting tips on match 2025-12-12 17:30.
[p]Surprise back-to-back Bundesliga defeats mean that Bayer Leverkusen cannot take any opposition for granted, not even newly promoted Cologne, who are on the slide.[/p]
[p]Match News and Current Form[/p]
[p]Leverkusen have slipped out of the top three with those two losses, which have already seen the 2023/24 champions suffer more German top-flight defeats in 2025/26 than in their two previous campaigns combined. Head coach Kasper Hjulmand has been forced to dismiss concerns that the squad are becoming overwhelmed by a schedule that will see this be their seventh competitive encounter in three weeks. They will therefore appreciate looking quite far down the table for their next opponent, as they are currently a club-record 16 league games unbeaten against newly-promoted sides (W12, D4), while they have earned 13 out of a possible 15 Bundesliga points at home this season against teams starting this round of fixtures outside the European places.[/p]
[p]Cologne are seven points behind Leverkusen after four consecutive league matches in which they have scored but failed to win (D2, L2). Even making it 1-0 was not enough to get them over the line against relegation-threatened St. Pauli last weekend (1-1), leaving it difficult to envision where their next victory is going to come from. The Billy Goats have also lost four out of their five league encounters this season against clubs starting this round above them in the standings (W1) which, when combined with their three-game winless away run (D1, L2), highlights why they come into this clash as such significant outsiders. [/p]
[p]Head-to-Head History[/p]
[p]Leverkusen have won seven of the last ten H2Hs (D1, L2) after eliminating Cologne from last season’s DFB-Pokal quarter-finals in extra time, though the two defeats were on home soil. Five of those wins were by 2+ goal margins.[/p]
[p]Hot Stats and Streaks[/p]
[p]Four of Leverkusen’s last five Bundesliga games produced over 2.5 goals. [/p]
[p]Leverkusen have scored first in all 12 of their wins and conceded first in four of their five losses this season. [/p]
[p]Cologne have led just once at half-time on the road this term. [/p]
[p]A league-high 77% of Cologne’s Bundesliga games this season saw both teams score. [/p]
[p]Key Players to Watch and Missing Players[/p]
[p]Leverkusen’s Christian Kofane could make a late impact here, as four of his five goals this season have arrived after half-time, with three of those coming at home. Jakub Kamiński has scored and/or assisted in three of his last seven games for Cologne or Poland and set up a goal on his last trip to Leverkusen with Wolfsburg. [/p]
[p]Leverkusen seemingly have no fresh absentees, while Tom KrauĂź went off injured for Cologne last weekend.[/p]
[p]For all the latest team news, please check the Flashscore match centre.[/p]
[p]Betting Analysis[/p]
[p]These sides’ results have become tough to predict, but their frequent scoring could make both teams to score a sensible bet here.[/p]
[p][i]Author: Aaron Murphy[/i][/p]