Three Black and Red players are unavailable for this clash. Karim Bellarabi and captain Lars Bender are back on the pitch after injury but are not yet involved in full training. Central striker Lucas Alario also misses the match with his yellow card at Schalke leading to a one-match ban.
"If no more babies are born tonight then everybody else should be available for the squad," said head coach Peter Bosz with a smile at today's pre-match press conference. The Dutchman was making reference the birth of Leon Bailey’s son Leo on Sunday morning that led to his dropping out of the game at Schalke 04 late on
With three games to play, the late point in Gelsenkirchen means the Werkself hold all the aces in the battle to qualify for Europe's elite club competition. "But to keep it in our hands we have to win three times – and that starts tomorrow against Köln," declared Bosz.
To come out on top in the game against the Goats, the head coach believes it needs a "top performance". The 56-year-old added: "We have to be on top of our game – regardless of whether it's a home or away match – and whether fans are there or not. I'm completely confident we can achieve that tomorrow."
FC Köln have not won a single match since the Bundesliga restart and lost 2-1 last time out against Union Berlin. "The fact Köln have not won after the break due to the coronavirus pandemic is not important. The same applies to Schalke 04 and we all saw what happened in the end," warned Bosz, who also made it clear: "Of course, it's also about making amends for us: It's a derby – that's very important for our fans and for us too. We lost the game earlier in the season because we were poor. We have to be better tomorrow. It all depends on us."
Match information:
Broadcasters: Sky and Werkself Radio (bayer04.de)
Referee: The referee will be announced on the day of the game
Bayer 04 host 1. FC Köln at the BayArena in the final home game of 2025 . Today’s match on Saturday, 13 December kicks off at 18:30.30 pm. The Werkself are looking for three points against 1. FC Köln, who are without a win in four games but they do have a shooting star in their ranks up front. The Bayer 04 Volunteering Award will be presented at the derby against the club from Cologne and another fan club will be honoured for many years of loyalty under the Cross. The matchday news.
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