Time is right for a hat-trick

It would be a first of the season and much to the liking of the Werkself and their fans: Bayer 04 have not been able to win three fixtures in succession this term. After the two wins  against Wolfsburg and Mönchengladbach, all Black and Reds are hoping that run will end on Sunday (15.30 CET, RhineEnergie Stadium ) in the 62nd Bundesliga derby against FC Köln. "It would be the best moment of the season," said Bayer 04 keeper Bernd Leno in an interview with sports journal the Kicker, "three, four wins on the bounce would reflect our performances." Leverkusen have not lost to their rivals from along the Rhine for nearly seven years, earning two wins and two draws at FC Köln along the way.

The situation ahead of the second game of the season against FC is completely different from last term: Back then, the Werkself were in a relegation battle while FC Köln were on course to qualify for Europe. This time it is the other way round. Nevertheless - or perhaps because of it – Heiko Herrlich is expecting an evenly balanced encounter. "FC Köln have to be taken seriously. I saw the game in Bremen and I never had the impression the two teams were in a position to be involved in a relegation battle," said the head coach at the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon held at the media centre at the BayArena, broadcast live as usual on bayer04.de and Facebook.

ready for a tough battle

Herrlich stressed that FC are eleventh in the form table for the second half of the season. "And FC Köln have already won three times on the trot this season, which we haven't managed to achieve yet. But on Sunday we want to pick up three points. This is a massive chance to get three wins in a row," said the Werkself coach who is prepared to face an opponent willing to use all means possible to get a result. "It will be similar to the Hamburg and Wolfsburg games where we also met two tough opponents. But the team did well to come out on top both times," said the Bayer 04 coach.

Herrlich's praise for Alario

It remains to be seen who will be in the Werkself squad for the derby. There are question marks over three players. Stefan Kießling has picked up a cold and did not train on Thursday. Lars Bender, suffering with a groin problem, and Charles Aránguiz, with a calf issue, were able to work on their own today. "We'll have to wait until the final pre-match training session on Saturday. It's looking more likely that Charles will be able to play. We won't take any risks with Lars," said Herrlich who is looking to build on the impressive form of his central striker Lucas Alario in the derby. "Lucas not only scores goals and provides assists but he also works for the team. Pressing the ball and the desire to help the team are very important to me. He has made a vast improvement in that respect. We are glad to have him," declared Herrlich.

Bayer 04 will have the backing of 3,200 fans on Sunday.