Bayer Leverkusen forward Admir Mehmedi. (Photo : Getty Images)
Reeling club FC Cologne (6-3-6, 24 points) is set to face mercurial team Bayer Leverkusen (6-7-2, 20 points) in a match on Dec. 21, Wednesday at the RheinEnergieStadion as the two teams aim to improve their standings in the 2016-2017 Bundesliga season.
Start Time and Streaming Info
The game starts at 2:00 p.m. ET. It can be viewed live online thru FuboTV.
Both teams have suffered losses to lowly squads during the previous round and they are keen on redeeming themselves as they square off this week.
Cologne is on a four-game winless slide and has been winless in five of their last six games to drop to the seventh spot of the current league table, only two points below the Europa League qualifying berth temporarily held by fifth and sixth-place teams Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt.
In their most recent fixture, the Billy Goats were held to a 1-1 draw by Werder Bremen last Saturday on the road at the Weserstadion for their second consecutive drawn match, as per ESPN.
Latvian striker Artjoms Rudnevs scored the game's first goal in the 28th minute with a close-range right-footer off a rebound play after teammate Anthony Modeste's shot was blocked by Bremen goalkeeper Jaroslav Drobny.
However, the game was equalized in the 40th minute by Bremen forward Serge Gnabry, who buried his own right-footed shot off an assist by team captain Clemens Fritz.
Meanwhile, Bayer Leverkusen has been inconsistent in their last six matches, losing three and being unbeaten in three games as well.
Their last match ended in an embarrassing 1-2 loss to bottom three squad FC Ingolstadt at their own home ground of BayArena last Sunday, Fox Sports Asia reported.
American midfielder Alfredo Morales sank the opening goal of the contest in the 26th minute to give the visitors a one-point lead at the half.
Bayer then suffered a bad break four minutes after the restart when Chilean winger Charles Aranguiz was sent off after getting booked with a second yellow card.
Head coach Roger Schmidt's 10-man side was able to level the count in the 63rd minute courtesy of a goal by Swiss midfielder Admir Mehmedi, but Ingolstadt managed to score the winner in the 73rd with a goal from Israeli midfielder Almog Cohen.
Prediction and Predicted Lineup
The predicted result is a close 2-1 decision for Bayer Leverkusen.
Cologne starting lineup (3-4-1-2 formation): Kessler; Heintz, Mavraj, Sorensen; Rausch, Hector, Hoger, Olkowski; Osako; Rudnevs, Modeste
Bayer Leverkusen starting lineup (4-2-3-1 formation): Leno; da Costa, Dragovic, Jedvaj, Tah; Kampl, Bender; Baumgartlinger, Calhanoglu, Mehmedi; Hernandez
