FC Cologne vs Bayer Leverkusen Betting Tips and Predictions

FC Cologne had a disappointing 1-1 away draw last Sunday, conceding in the 91st minute, against relegation fighting TSG Hoffenheim. Cologne have won just one of their last seven Bundesliga matches (W1 D2 L4), which has seen them drop further down the league to 11th place. Despite poor recent form, they are still seven points clear of the relegation zone, however, with this tricky fixture against Bayer Leverkusen, and matches against Mainz 05 and Borussia Dortmund before the end of the season, Cologne will need to keep themselves composed to avoid slipping any further.

Bayer Leverkusen, contrastingly, have been in good-form in the past weeks and have climbed up to fifth-place in the Bundesliga, three points behind Champions League qualifying placed Hertha BSC and only behind fourth-place Borussia M’gladbach on goal difference. Leverkusen are unbeaten in four matches in all competitions (W3 D1), with clean sheets kept in each of their wins against Hamburg, Stuttgart, and last Friday’s 3-0 at home to Wolfsburg. The prospect of the third Champions League qualification spot should keep Leverkusen motivated to continue that trend ahead of this “must win” game, especially with three difficult back to back matches against Schalke 04, Hertha BSC and Borussia M’gladbach lurking in the coming weeks.

Bayer Leverkusen are in decent away form, having won three, drawn two and lost one from their last six away matches. FC Cologne, on the other hand, are in very poor home form, taking only one win from their last five (W1 L5) and losing their last three consecutive matches at home, admittedly against difficult opponents (Bayern Munich, Schalke 04 and Hertha BSC). Their loss against Bayern Munich in their last match at home, to FC Cologne’s credit, finished only 1-0 and Cologne are notorious for being a “stubborn” team, often neither scoring, nor conceding many goals. Losses of 1-0, and draws of 1-1 and 0-0, are by far the most common results seen in the RheinEnergieStadion this season and with Cologne’s form on the decline, and Bayer Leverkusen in their best form all season with three consecutive wins, expect this trend to continue. Combining the analysis above with the statistics below, under 2.5 goals and a final score of 1-0 to Bayer Leverkusen at 13/2 seem solid bets for this match.

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