Leverkusen – Cologne

In Leverkusen, the opponents will exchange goals.

Bayer's story this season is well known throughout football Europe. In the summer, the team underwent significant departures. The entire core of the team, led by Xabi Alonso and Florian Wirtz, left. Instead of the Spanish coach, the club's management appointed Erik ten Hag to the coaching position and demanded improved results after a 'non-championship' season. Considering the nuances of building new football squads, for which classical teachings allocate three years, the Dutch coach failed to start with winning results. As a result, the former Manchester United coach was made the former Bayer coach after just the second round of the Bundesliga. The appointed rescuer, Kasper Hjulmand, undoubtedly invigorated the 'raw' team and delivered a series of decent results with them, but it's still early to talk about stability in Leverkusen. Cologne returned to the Bundesliga as a result of last season's second division in Germany. In the elite of German football, the 'goats' feel quite comfortable, occupying a mid-table position. However, the lower part of the table is extremely dense, which means that a couple of losses could closely bring Cologne to the relegation zone. Bookmakers have determined the home team as favorites for the upcoming match, offering odds of 1.55 for their victory. Bayer is experiencing fluctuations in form this season. For example, a home defeat by Borussia Dortmund and an away victory over them in the national cup within the same week. Or a home defeat in the Champions League to PSG with a score of 2-7 and a subsequent victory over Manchester City with a score of 0-2. It can definitely be asserted that Bayer is not yet strong enough to achieve solid consecutive results. The situation is complicated for the 'pharmacists' by the necessity to play on three football fronts. In midweek, they played in the Champions League against Newcastle. Bayer's players expended a lot of energy and managed to snatch a draw thanks to a goal from Grimaldo in the 88th minute. Meanwhile, Cologne was calmly preparing for the match in Leverkusen. The 'goats' have not been able to win four rounds in a row, but they have reliably scored in every match for the past month and a half. Let's make a bet that the combination of factors will lead the opponents to exchange goals.