Bayer Leverkusen vs FC Koln Prediction, Preview, Team News and Lineups 05.02.2025

• Date and Time: Wednesday, February 5, 2025, 20:45 GMT+1
• Venue: BayArena, Leverkusen, Germany

Bayer Leverkusen vs FC Koln Preview and Team News

Bayer Leverkusen Team News

Defending champions Bayer Leverkusen will come up against FC Koln in the quarterfinal of the DFB Pokal at home on Wednesday. The team have sent shockwaves through the entire German football-loving community. They won the Bundesliga and DFB Pokal last season and ended the UEFA Europa League as the runners-up. This time around, they’ll be defending their title.

5⃣0⃣ games
3⃣0⃣ goals

🫡 @boniface_jrn pic.twitter.com/rnrS2x2PwO

— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) February 3, 2025

The main news of the previous week was the collapse of Victor Boniface’s transfer to Al Nassr. The Nigerian will continue to play for Leverkusen and will surely help his club in the title race.

Bayer have become a well-oiled machine under the tutelage of Xabi Alonso, and they’re expected to put up another domineering performance on Wednesday. They like to play out from the back, passing the ball in short phases and allowing their opponents to get drawn out of position before launching an offensive. 

Alonso will miss the services of Adli, Terrier, and Belocian for this crucial knockout game.

Bayer Leverkusen predicted lineup vs FC Koln (3-4-2-1): Hrádecký; Tapsoba, Tah, Hincapié; Frimpong, Xhaka, Palacios, Grimaldo; García, Wirtz; Schick.

FC Koln Team News

Koln will be proud of their progress to the quarterfinal stage of the DFB Pokal this season, but they’ll also back themselves to come good at this stage. Many of their supporters might feel that a fixture against Bayer will signal the end of their hopes. Manager Gerhard Struber must find a way to tell his men that they cannot lose their belief and that they need to strike Bayer, especially on the counterattack.

The guests will be expected to do most of the defending in this match. Their fullbacks must be ready to create passes and crosses into the final third whenever they get the chance. 

Leverkusen are not expected to lose the ball often, but when they do, Koln must sweep up behind them and convert it. 

Due to injuries, Struber will be without the services of Christensen, Pauli, Kilian, Uth, and Olesen.

FC Koln predicted lineup vs Bayer Leverkusen (3-4-2-1): Schwabe; Schmeid, Heintz, Hubers; Paqarada, Martel, Ljubicic, Gazibegovic; Kaintz; Maina, Downs.

Bayer Leverkusen vs FC Koln Prediction

• Pick: Bayer Leverkusen to win
• Odds: 1.26 (22Bet)
• Score prediction: Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 FC Koln

Leverkusen are clearly the favourites in this game, and we anticipate them winning comfortably. They’ll have the advantage given that Koln currently ply their trade in the 2 Bundesliga, which is one step below where the hosts are playing. 

One can expect the home side to beat their opponents since they’ve won three out of the previous four matches against these rivals.

Bayer Leverkusen vs FC Koln Prediction, Betting Tip

• Pick: Total over 2.5 goals
• Odds: 1.44 (22Bet)

Koln will feel somewhat inferior to their opponents on Wednesday. However, they can take heart that they’ve won seven of the 22 games between these two clubs. The visitors have also beaten Bayer in two of their last five encounters.

We expect over 2.5 goals to be scored in this match, mainly due to the presence of striker Patrick Schick on the Leverkusen squad. Their other attackers will also be keen on testing the Koln defence as much as possible and leading them into the semifinal stage, possibly the title.

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