Bayer Leverkusen vs FC Cologne Competition – German Bundesliga Stadium – BayArena Date: 5th May 2023 Kick-off time – 19:30 GMT
Xabi Alonso and his Leverkusen side will look to keep their impressive run of form when they welcome Cologne to the BayArena this Friday. The hosts finished the last round in sixth position and their hunt for a European place remains well on course following an impressive run of nine league games without defeat (W6, D3). That run is now the longest ongoing unbeaten run in the Bundesliga and has made Alonso one of the most sought-after coaches in Europe. Alonso’s side’s unbeaten stretch extends to 14 games across all competitions (W10, D4), which includes the Europa League. The Bundesliga has brought this game forward to Friday to help Leverkusen as they look to notch another league win ahead of their crucial UEFA Europa League semi-final next week. A return to the BayArena should help the hosts here as Die Werkself have won five of their last six competitive games here scoring at least twice in each victory. Meanwhile, Cologne will look to continue their quest for survival when they travel to Leverkusen on Friday. The visitors aren’t quite mathematically safe following their 1-0 defeat to Freiburg in the previous round. Yet, they have already achieved a 35-point haul which would have seen them safe in each season since 2016/17. Surpassing the 37-point mark that has been enough to secure top flight football since 2017 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). Cologne could be inspired by a pair of 3-1 away 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 would be impressive, as the Billy Goats haven’t won three straight top-flight away games since 1996. Other fixtures taking place this week in the German Bundesliga:
May 18, 2024
Borussia Dortmund
14:30
Darmstadt
Union Berlin
14:30
SC Freiburg
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
14:30
Augsburg 1907
Eintracht Frankfurt
14:30
RB Leipzig
Wolfsburg
14:30
Mainz
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
14:30
Bayern Munich
Werder Bremen
14:30
VFL Bochum
Stuttgart
14:30
Borussia Mönchengladbach
Heidenheim
14:30
FC Cologne
German Bundesliga Table
#
Team
MP
W
D
L
F
A
G
P
1
Bayer 04 Leverkusen
33
27
6
0
87
23
+64
87
2
Bayern Munich
33
23
3
7
92
41
+51
72
3
Stuttgart
33
22
4
7
74
39
+35
70
4
RB Leipzig
33
19
7
7
75
37
+38
64
5
Borussia Dortmund
33
17
9
7
64
43
+21
60
6
Eintracht Frankfurt
33
11
13
9
49
48
+1
46
7
TSG 1899 Hoffenheim
33
12
7
14
62
64
-2
43
8
SC Freiburg
33
11
9
13
44
56
-12
42
9
Heidenheim
33
9
12
12
46
54
-8
39
10
Augsburg 1907
33
10
9
14
49
58
-9
39
11
Werder Bremen
33
10
9
14
44
53
-9
39
12
Wolfsburg
33
10
7
16
40
53
-13
37
13
Borussia Mönchengladbach
33
7
13
13
56
63
-7
34
14
VFL Bochum
33
7
12
14
41
70
-29
33
15
Mainz
33
6
14
13
36
50
-14
32
16
Union Berlin
33
8
6
19
31
57
-26
30
17
FC Cologne
33
5
12
16
27
56
-29
27
18
Darmstadt
33
3
8
22
30
82
-52
17
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