1. FC Cologne against Bayer 04 Leverkusen: This is how staying in the league can work

Derby on Saturday

Can 1. FC Köln soon celebrate relegation?

1. FC Cologne is only looking at itself before the derby against Bayer Leverkusen, says René Wagner. But when kick-off sounds on Saturday, things will be different.

René Wagner doesn’t think much of keeping an eye on other teams’ results. At least that’s what the head coach said 1. FC Cologne. “We only look at ourselves. We want to bring energy onto the pitch and believe in our strength to win the game. That’s how we want to go into the game,” said Wagner on Thursday about the home game against Bayer 04 Leverkusen.

The derby on Saturday is of utmost importance for FC. Regardless of all the rivalry, three points in the home game would almost certainly mean staying in the league.

Wagner knows that too, even if he doesn’t want to put it that way – diplomatically, as he appears these days. “We hear that every week now,” he said with a wink. “But it remains the same: the next game is the most important again. We want to collect three points. We don’t worry about anything else.”

But the savior scenario for FC is clear: Parallel to the billy goats, FC St. Pauli (16th in the table) will also play at 1. FC Heidenheim (18th) on Saturday at 3:30 p.m., while VfL Wolfsburg (17th) will host Gladbach (13th). There isn’t much more of a relegation battle in these two games. And it is precisely these duels that FC will have an eye on during the 90 minutes against Leverkusen.

Because one thing is clear: If Pauli (26 points) and Wolfsburg (24 points) lose, 1. FC Köln (31 points) could almost completely stay in the league with a win against Leverkusen. With only three games remaining, direct relegation would have been avoided and Wolfsburg would have been left behind. Hamburg would be eight points behind – with only nine points still to be awarded and a significantly worse goal difference than FC.

Of course, no one wants to think about that yet. How dangerous too much security can be FC experienced this in its largely weak performance at St. Pauli the previous week. Especially since Pauli has shown that they haven’t given up yet and the Wolves have also come back with a win. Caution is therefore advised for the FC. Especially since Bayer Leverkusen are likely to travel to Cologne with a lot of anger in their stomachs after their exit from the DFB Cup.