Bayer Leverkusen will look to strengthen their position at the top end of the Bundesliga table on Sunday, when they play host to FC Koln.
The hosts remain five points behind second-placed Borussia Dortmund after a commendable draw with Bayern Munich last weekend, while their visitors were most recently beaten 1-0 by Hoffenheim.
Match preview
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Bayer Leverkusen established themselves in the Bundesliga top four with a run of four straight league victories across January and February, as they defeated Borussia Monchengladbach, Augsburg, Borussia Dortmund and Stuttgart, scoring 16 goals in the process including a 5-2 thrashing of second-placed Dortmund.
Following a loss to Mainz, Gerardo Seoane's side bounced back with a 3-0 thrashing of Arminia Bielefeld before earning a commendable point with a draw against league leaders Bayern Munich most recently.
Niklas Sule put the Bavarian giants ahead, but a Thomas Muller own goal levelled the scoring before half time and Die Werkself would stand strong to force a share of the spoils.
They returned to action on Thursday, meeting Atalanta in the first leg of their Europa League round-of-16 tie, and, despite Charles Aranguiz putting them ahead in Italy, they eventually fell to a 3-2 loss, leaving them with work to do next week to overturn the deficit.
For now, Seoane's men will turn their attention back to domestic action, with the chance to further establish themselves in the top three with a victory.
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They welcome a Koln side who will aim to move closer to the top six with what would be an eye-catching result away from home after consecutive games without a victory.
Despite enjoying a commendable season, Die Geissbocke have been relatively inconsistent recently and boast just two wins from their last eight matches in all competitions, albeit with one of those being a crucial 1-0 triumph over sixth-placed Freiburg thanks to Anthony Modeste's goal.
After their most recent win, a 1-0 defeat of Eintracht Frankfurt, Koln met basement side Greuther Furth and were held to a particularly disappointing draw as Sebastian Griesbeck cancelled out Florian Kainz's opener.
That was followed by a narrow defeat to fourth-placed Hoffenheim last time out, as Stefan Posch hit the only goal of the game to see the visitors make it four straight wins in the German top flight.
As a result, Steffen Baumgart's side have dropped behind in the race for a top-six finish, and, with just nine games left to bridge a five-point gap, they will know they need to quickly post a run of wins.
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Team News
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Bayer Leverkusen may opt to make some rotations to their squad after an action-packed game on Thursday and with the second leg looming, while Andrey Lunev is out injured and key forward Patrik Schick remains a doubt alongside Robert Andrich and Karim Bellarabi.
In the absence of Schick, Lucas Alario should again lead the line, although January signing Sardar Azmoun will also be vying for a first league start.
Piero Hincapie is likely to return to the back line alongside Jonathan Tah, with Jeremie Frimpong and Mitchel Bakker playing in full-back roles.
The lone striker will be supported by the exciting duo of Moussa Diaby and Florian Wirtz, who have contributed combined tallies of 26 goals and 23 assists across Bundesliga and Europa League action this term.
Jonas Hector missed out last weekend for FC Koln but is expected to return, while Mark Uth is set to be ruled out through illness.
Their line will be led by Anthony Modeste, who has enjoyed a clinical season, netting 15 goals in 24 league appearances.
Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Frimpong, Tah, Hincapie, Bakker; Aranguiz, Palacios; Diaby, Wirtz, Paulinho; Alario
FC Koln possible starting lineup:
Schwabe; Schmitz, Kilian, Hubers, Hector; Skhiri, Ozcan; Duda, Ljubicic, Kainz; Modeste
We say: Bayer Leverkusen 3-1 FC Koln
The hosts' positive style should certainly make this an entertaining encounter with chances aplenty at both ends, and we ultimately expect them to take all three points.
Even without several key players, Die Werkself boast a strong squad, and the likes of Wirtz and Diaby possess the quality to punish the visitors.
Top tip
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Bayer Leverkusen win with a probability of 61.08%. A win for FC Koln had a probability of 19.48% and a draw had a probability of 19.4%.
The most likely scoreline for a Bayer Leverkusen win was 2-1 with a probability of 9.57%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (7.82%) and 3-1 (7.27%). The likeliest FC Koln win was 1-2 (5.14%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (8.4%). The actual scoreline of 0-1 was predicted with a 3.7% likelihood.
