Following last Saturday's home game against Borussia Mönchengladbach, Heiko Herrlich's team face a second Rhine derby within eight days. Thanks to the 2-0 win against Gladbach, Bayer 04 clocked up three wins in a season against the side from the Lower Rhine for the first time. And now comes the chance against FC Köln to register three away wins on the bounce in the league as Herrlich discussed in yesterday's pre-match press conference. The Werkself could produce a repeat of the 2008/09 campaign: That season was the last time Leverkusen secured the double over FC Köln – with two 2-0 wins.
The stats of the previous 61 league meetings between the two teams heavily favours the Werkself with 23 wins (24 draws, 14 defeats). That is probably also due to the fact Bayer 04 have only lost once at FC Köln in 20 years – in a 2-0 defeat in April 2011. The last eleven games at the FC Köln stadium since 1997 have brought the Black and Reds six wins and five draws. Moreover: The 2-0 loss in April 2011 was the last time Bayer 04 failed to score in this fixture – the Werkself have always found the back of the net in the previous nine derby encounters.
Matchday 27 in the top two divisions in Germany is being played under the motto of 'Say no to prejudice'. Germany's 36 pro clubs stand together against all discrimination and for diversity and cooperation. The campaign includes all the players wearing special tops over their shirts – the Werkself will play in their black kit. The player escorts on Sunday will all be children involved in the integration football project KIDsmiling, which both Bayer 04 and FC Köln have supported for over ten years.
It was confirmed on Thursday that Harm Osmers will referee the 62nd derby. The 33-year-old comes from Hannover and has refereed 19 matches in Germany's top flight since his appointment to the Bundesliga three years ago – five of them involved the Werkself (the last was the 2-2 draw with RB Leipzig in November 2017). Up to now that has always been a good omen as Bayer 04 did not end up on the losing side. Instead there were two wins and one draw. Osmers has shown eleven yellow cards to Werkself players and one red. His assistants on Sunday are Florian Heft and Sven Waschitzki. Talking of yellow cards: The Werkself skipper Lars Bender and striker Lucas Alario are a booking away from a one-match pan.
Herrlich's men moved up from fifth back to fourth last weekend. The Werkself have been in the top five since matchday 15 (twelve games in succession). The last time Bayer 04 had a similar run was in 2013/14 when the Black and Reds were in the top five for all 34 matchdays.
One reason for being in the top third of the table is the points haul from away games: Heiko Herrlich's team have not lost on the road in the past ten games (6 wins, 4 draws) – that is currently the longest run in the league. The longest ever for Bayer 04 in a season came in 2009/10 with no defeats in the first twelve away games. The last away defeat for the Werkself this season came on matchday five in a 2-1 loss at Hertha Berlin.
A week ago, Julian Brandt sealed victory at Mönchengladbach with his goal putting Bayer 04 2-0 up just 20 minutes after coming off the bench. It was his third goal as a sub – and the second on the bounce following Brandt's strike in the 2-1 victory at Wolfsburg. For the 21-year-old, alongside keeper Bernd Leno involved in all 26 league games to date this term, it was the thirteenth time he'd been involved in a goal (9 goals, 4 assists) – only Kevin Volland (10/4) and Leon Bailey (9/5) exceed that achievement. Moreover: Brandt's goal was the seventh scored by a Leverkusen substitute this season – no other team can match that.
All Bayer 04 fans, unable to travel to support the Werkself, are welcome to come along to the Schwadbud: As ever, the fan pub in the East Stand at the BayArena is open for supporters to join together and get behind the Werkself. The doors open one hour before kick-off at 14.30 on Sunday: Drop in and cross your fingers for the Werkself with fellow Bayer 04 fans. Further information and background on the game plus live reporting are available via our social media channels or via the matchday mode on the website at bayer04.de. So here we go, Black and Reds.
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