Bayer Leverkusen vs FC Koln prediction: GERMANY: Bundesliga betting tips on match 2023-05-04 18:30.
Bayer Leverkusen finished the last round in sixth and their hunt for a European place remains well on course following an impressive run of nine league games without defeat (W6, D3), which is now the longest ongoing unbeaten run in the league! That unbeaten stretch extends to 14 games across all competitions, which has raised the stock of boss Xabi Alonso, with big clubs around Europe beginning to take notice of his feats.
This game has been brought forward to Friday by the Bundesliga, which perhaps plays into Leverkusen’s hands as they look to notch another league win ahead of their crucial UEFA Europa League semi-final next week. Playing at the BayArena should help in that aim as the hosts have won five of their last six competitive games here, scoring at least twice in each victory.
Cologne aren’t quite mathematically safe following their 1-0 defeat to Freiburg in the previous round. However, they have already achieved a 35-point haul which would have seen them safe in each season since 37 points was the threshold back in 2016/17. Surpassing that mark here against an in-form opposition side is perhaps a big ask, especially as manager Steffen Baumgart has won just once across his six touchline meetings with Leverkusen (W1, D1, L4).
Possibly inspiring hope of bucking that trend will be Cologne’s pair of travelling 3-1 victories ahead of this trip, with those wins over Hoffenheim and Augsburg serving to end a seven-game travelling winless run in style. Extending that winning run to three with a second straight win in Leverkusen would be impressive, not least because the Billy Goats haven’t won three straight top-flight away games since 1996!
Key battle: Goalkeeper Lukáš Hrádecký has played no small part in helping Leverkusen put together a run of over six hours of play with just one goal conceded, making 14 saves across his last four appearances. Trying to get the better of him will be Cologne’s Florian Kainz; the influential midfielder both scored and assisted before half-time in their latest away game.
Hot stat: Leverkusen have scored during both halves in a Bundesliga-high nine home games this season (60%).