Matchday news #KOEB04: Over 5,000 Bayer 04 fans in Cologne

#KOEB04: Match facts

The crowd inside the BayArena for the season’s first encounter with Köln back in December had to wait 66 minutes for the first goal, but it was worth the wait as Martin Terrier produced a scorpion kick to break the Billy Goats’ resolve. Captain Robert Andrich headed in a corner six minutes later to round off the 2-0 win. It was one of 20 goals the Werkself have scored from set pieces this term, which ranks third in the Bundesliga; Köln have conceded the second most with 22.

The result continued Leverkusen’s good recent record in the derby, winning each of the last four across all competitions and also keeping clean sheets in the last three Bundesliga meetings. However, Köln have managed to lift their form of late under interim coach René Wagner, now on a run of five Bundesliga games without defeat.

Focus on Köln

The Billy Goats’ record over the last five Bundesliga games reads one win and four draws. It’s a turnaround in form that has lifted the Cologne club up to 12th in the table. Striker Luca Waldschmidt spoke after last weekend’s 1-1 draw with relegation rivals St. Pauli of an “important point for us”. Find out more about Köln ahead of the latest edition of the derby in our opposition profile.

Big support in Cologne

The Werkself can count on the backing of over 5,000 supporters making the short trip from Leverkusen as they look for another derby scalp.

Hartmann in charge

The German FA (DFB) have appointed Robert Hartmann to oversee this match. The Werkself have lost only three of the previous 21 games under the 46-year-old. His last Leverkusen fixture was the 3-1 win at Wolfsburg on Matchday 11 of this season. Making his derby debut, his assistants are Christian Leicher and Tobias Schultes. The VAR is Guido Winkmann.