Our next opponents: Two targets in the last four games

Position

FC Köln lost at the weekend after a run of four games without defeat. However, the Cologne team produced another convincing performance in the 1-0 home defeat against SC Freiburg. "It's difficult to find the right words when you have such a good game and then end up losing," said FC Köln coach Steffen Baumgart. "The lads gave their all. It's great to see that we're back on track." They came off that track from the middle of February to the beginning of April. FC Köln went six games without a win (four defeats, two draws) and only scored one goal in that run of fixtures with a goal difference of 1 for and 13 against that saw them slip down to thirteenth in the table. The lowest point was a 6-1 defeat away to Borussia Dortmund in the middle of March.

The change in fortune for FC Köln came with a 3-1 win at FC Augsburg, followed by a 1-1 draw against Mainz 05 and finally the extremely important 3-1 away victory at TSG Hoffenheim, which Baumgart described as a "decisive step in staying up." He continued, "We all felt a heavy burden lift off our shoulders after the final whistle." The gap to sixteenth after matchday 29 was ten points. After the 1-0 defeat against SC Freiburg, the lead over the play-off spot is now seven points and eight points to the relegation positions, as Stuttgart, Schalke and Bochum all secured results on matchday 30. But with four games to play that should be enough for the team currently in eleventh position. FC Köln have 35 points. From Baumgart's perspective, they "could have had six or seven more points," with one or two points dropped despite good performances.

PersonNEl

Steffen Baumgart will not have to make major changes compared with recent weeks for the game at Leverkusen. The only regular starter unavailable is Eric Martel. The holding midfielder picked up a fifth yellow card against Freiburg and is now suspended. Striker Florian Dietz (in rehab training after torn cruciate) and forward Mark Uth, who has had two groin operations this season, are still sidelined.

In front of goalkeeper Marvin Schwäbe, Baumgart will again be able to rely on the back four played for many weeks in the game at the BayArena. With skipper Jonas Hector (left) and Benno Schmitz (right) on the flanks. Schmitz scored his only previous Bundesliga goal in the Hinrunde in the 2-1 defeat for FC Köln against the Werkself. In central defence, Timo Hübers has recently lined up alongside Julian ‘Jeff’ Chabot. The 25-year-old joined on loan from Sampdoria in January 2022 and has won the second highest number of duels for FC Köln after Hector. In addition, Chabot has also impressed in build-up play with a pass completion rate of over 80 per cent. One option in defence is Luca Kilian who had two brief appearances against Augsburg and Hoffenheim after a long period ruled out through injury.

The Tunisian Ellyes Skhiri is a regular starter in holding midfield. The 27-year-old will leave FC Köln in the summer. A heavy blow as "Ellyes is irreplaceable in terms of work rate and ability," said Baumgart. "You can't easily replace players like that and it will take time." The same definitely applies to Jonas Hector who announced that he will end his playing career in the summer after thirteen years at FC Köln following a 3-1 win against Hoffenheim. And one other personnel issue is also affecting the mood in Cologne: Timo Horn, the longstanding number one at FC Köln, will seek a new challenge in the summer after 21 years at and 329 games for the Cologne club. It remains to be seen where he will go. It is also uncertain which club Ellyes Skhiri will join after four years in Cologne. On Friday night, he will likely be joined in midfield by Denis Huseinbasic or Dejan Ljubicic in place of the suspended Martel.

The most prolific player up front for FC Köln is key player Florian Kainz with six goals and eight assists. Linton Maina and Dejan Ljubicic or Kingsley Schindler usually play on the wings. Davie Selke, signed from Hertha Berlin in January, has recently been playing as the lone striker. The 1.95 metre giant has scored two goals in thirteen games. Steffen Tigges, who played up front before that, has scored five goals but has been on the subs bench in recent games.

Performers

No team in the Bundesliga covers as many kilometres per game as FC Köln (119). The Baumgart team play competitive and physical football. Bayer 04 experienced that in the Hinrunde encounter. The derby in November 2022 did end in a 2-1 victory for the Werkself but FC Köln were on equal terms for much of the game. "We dominated the game and should have left the pitch as winners," said the FC Köln goalscorer Benno Schmitz.

Much of the attacking play from FC Köln comes down the wings. With 502 crosses – the Werkself have made half as many (256) – FC Köln have the highest number in the league. They give away few shots on goal at the back and are rarely susceptible to counter-attacks having only conceded two goals in that way.

Problems

Effort and return are not always evenly balanced for FC Köln. The team from Cologne lack efficiency and penetration up front. They do not have a genuine goal getter in their ranks. It says a lot that the midfielders Florian Kainz and Ellyes Skhiri are the top goal scorers with six apiece. Davie Selke was playing as centre forward but his strike rate is certainly capable of improvement. That may also be due to the lack of accurate passing in the final third. FC Köln make by far the most crosses in the league but they are next to bottom in terms of accuracy of crosses. The FC Köln attack has often failed in recent weeks. The Red and Whites did not score in ten of the last 18 Bundesliga fixtures. The total for the season is 13. Only Schalke have played one more game without scoring. "We're a team still developing and not yet in a position to exploit everything the opponents present us with," explained Baumgart.

Prediction

FC Köln have two targets in the last four games of the season: First of all, they want to break the 40-point mark and secondly end up higher in the table than arch rivals Borussia Mönchengladbach, who are one point ahead FC Köln at the moment in tenth. Staying up is almost certain even if relegation is mathematically still possible. The Red and Whites will not ease off despite that. The remaining fixtures are certainly interesting: The derby in Leverkusen is followed by fixtures against the relegation-threatened Hertha Berlin, the away game at Werder Bremen currently level on points as well as the final match of the season at home to Bayern Munich possibly still fighting for the title. Nothing will be given away in those games. In terms of the game against the neighbours, defender Benno Schmitz declared: "We want to give our all and come out on top. Leverkusen are in good shape and we're in good form. We haven't been afraid of anyone up to now. So, we will play our game there too." And finally, there is one negative to overcome from a FC Köln perspective: The last six Friday night games have all ended in defeat. "It's time for us to win again on Friday so that we can be relaxed watching football over the weekend," said Schmitz.