Our next opponents: Köln with pace and power

Position

Köln endured a frustrating afternoon last Saturday against FC St. Pauli. They were the better team over 90 minutes, led 1-0 through Said El Mala's sixth goal of the season and had other clear-cut chances to put the game to bed, but then the visitors from Hamburg converted only their second opportunity of the whole game to equalise. FC goalkeeper Marvin Schwäbe was suitably annoyed: "We had everything under control, defended brilliantly, won the second balls. Therefore it's extremely frustrating and hurts a lot to only come away with a point." Köln boss Lukas Kwasniok also bemoaned the result: "We just needed the second goal. We had to kill off St. Pauli somehow between the 60th and 90th minute." Despite the frustration, the 44-year-old was pleased with his team's performance and looked ahead with optimism to the trip to Leverkusen. "We were very solid. I'm confident we can get something at Leverkusen if we play like that."

After promotion back to the Bundesliga, the Billy Goats made a good start to the season with two wins, but only won two of their following 11 league games - away to TSG Hoffenheim (1-0) and at home to fellow promoted side Hamburger SV (4-1). The cathedral city club are currently winless in four and were also knocked out in the second round of the DFB Cup by FC Bayern Munich (4-1), although they were on a par with the record champions in the first half. On the whole, Köln can be satisfied with the season so far, currently occupying a mid-table position with 16 points. "We're in a situation that, before the start of the season, we all would've said: Thank you, we'll take that," said captain Schwäbe.

Personnel

The Billy Goats have also had to overcome a number of injury setbacks in recent weeks and months, especially in defence. Centre-back Luca Kilian suffered his third cruciate ligament tear in training in September and is out for the foreseeable future. In late October, they lost another central defender with Timo Hübers sustaining a serious knee injury in the match at Borussia Dortmund. The 29-year-old is also set to be sidelined for a lengthy period. Just a few weeks later, the next loss: Joël Schmied, who had played every game up to that point, was forced off with a hamstring strain in the 4-3 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt. Dominique Heintz, another centre-back, then suffered the same fate in the 1-1 draw at Werder Bremen. He's unlikely to be fit in time for the trip to Leverkusen. Kwasniok has therefore been forced to regularly adjust his defence in recent weeks, with summer signings Sebastian Sebulonsen (Bröndby IF) and Rav van den Berg (Middlesbrough) doing a good job alongside Eric Martel in a back three in the last match.

In defensive midfield, Tom Krauß, who joined on loan from 1. FSV Mainz 05 in the summer, has impressed. There's a good chance the 24-year-old will start alongside Denis Huseinbasic in central midfield against on Saturday. Iceland international Isak Johannesson, a summer signing from Fortuna Düsseldorf, has also played in this position.

Kwasniok has more options in attack. Another new signing has made himself indispensable there with his versatility: Jakub Kaminski, on loan (with option to buy) from VfL Wolfsburg, has started all 13 Bundesliga matches so far and scored five goals. Another player who offers flexibility is Jan Thielmann, being able to play on the right wing or further back as a right wing-back. At 23 he's already a leading figure at FC. Nineteen-year-old striking sensation El Mala isn't quite at that stage yet, but with six goals and three assists this term, the German U21 international is already hugely important for the team. Luca Waldschmidt, Marius Bülter, Linton Maina and summer signing from Kaiserslautern Ragnar Ache are also available in attack.

ProblemS

In a recent in-depth interview with kicker magazine, Kwasniok said that his team are still not getting the balance right between defence and attack. The aforementioned injuries have not helped defensive stability, he added. Particularly when defending set pieces, there's often a lack of organisation and consistency. The Billy Goats have conceded 12 goals from dead balls - no side in the German top flight have let in more. "We know that some of our defending from set pieces has been calamitous, so we need to make sure we're not conceding as many," admitted Thielmann. Köln have only scored three goals themselves from set plays, the joint lowest figure in the league together with Hamburg. Their play from the back through the wide positions could also be better, said Kwasniok. "On the wing is where you have the most space - we definitely have room for improvement there." Holding onto leads is also a problem, as was the case again last weekend. Had they not dropped 10 points from winning positions - only Wolfsburg have lost more (12) - the promoted side would be in a significantly better position in the standings.

Performers

Köln play as a solid unit under Kwasniok. "We've become stronger as a team," stressed captain Schwäbe. That can be seen especially but not only in their work without the ball, which despite all the defensive injuries is functioning well, whether they defend in a three, four or five. FC's total of 21 goals conceded is only two more than the Werkself. Going forward, too, they've often impressed. "Our biggest plus is: the boys can always score goals," said the head coach. Those "boys" he's referring to are top talent El Mala, Poland international Kaminski and strikers Bülter, Waldschmidt and Ache, who between them have been responsible for 18 of the side's 22  goals. El Mala and Kaminski in particular offer enormous pace, strong dribbling and penetrative power in the final third. Kaminski is often the driving force in Köln's attacking play with his energy, whether he's playing on the left or right, as a wing-back or in midfield. The versatile winger has been praised many times by Kwasniok. "Our best player," the coach called him after his starring performance against HSV. It's no wonder the Pole has been an ever-present in the Bundesliga so far.