"Play with intensity" – Ole Werner ahead of #KOERBL | OneFootball

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RB Leipzig

·6 February 2026

"Play with intensity" – Ole Werner ahead of #KOERBL

Article image:"Play with intensity" – Ole Werner ahead of #KOERBL

RB Leipzig prepare to travel to the Cathedral City to take on 1. FC Köln on Sunday, 8th February (15:30 CET). 

At the pre-match press conference, head coach Ole Werner spoke about the opponent, their strengths and which players are unavailable. 

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Team news:

  • Christoph Baumgartner is available again after serving his yellow-card suspension against Mainz. 
  • Ayodele Thomas will not make his debut in Cologne. The attacker is currently suffering from a cold and will only be back in training at the start of next week. 
  • Castello Lukeba is still out due to a knee injury. 
  • Suleman Sani, Assan Ouédraogo and Viggo Gebel remain unavailable.

Latest team news

Article image:"Play with intensity" – Ole Werner ahead of #KOERBL

The upcoming opponent:

  1. "Köln are a variable team that always adapt their approach to their opponents. Regardless of who features for them, they have shown themselves to be a tough opponent of late, with plenty of pace on the wings. We know what we're up against. It will be important for us to go out on the pitch with intensity and to show our quality, regardless of what Effzeh do. The fact is, we have recently been playing below our potential. We need to show our quality in every single action on the pitch. We have to make far fewer mistakes when in possession." 
Article image:"Play with intensity" – Ole Werner ahead of #KOERBL

Brajan Gruda:

  1. "Brajan is fit and raring to go. He's ready to start on Sunday but can also be an option from the bench – I've yet to make a final decision. Brajan's made a strong impression so far. He's got flair, he brings that street football energy to his playing style. There's a certain cheekiness to his game. We're delighted to have him on board. I see him as a number eight or as a number ten, as that's where he's able to shine. He's also capable of playing on the wing, but even at Mainz and Brighton, he was never a wide player. His position is more central." 
Article image:"Play with intensity" – Ole Werner ahead of #KOERBL

Xaver Schlager's departure in the summer:

  1. "It's been obvious for a while now that Xaver was toying with the thought of trying something new. He's now made his decision. Personally, I think it's a shame, as I enjoy working with him and see him as an important part of our team. However, it's an understandable decision. We were prepared for it, so it's not caught us unaware. We already have players in our squad that we're working with – for example, Ezechiel Banzuzi is a similar player to Xaver. We're also naturally looking elsewhere to see if there's anyone we can bring in ahead of the new season."
Article image:"Play with intensity" – Ole Werner ahead of #KOERBL

Finding their way back to success:

  1. "I think we have a strong team and that there are enough options there to change things. The question we're always asking ourselves is, where are the players currently at and what are their fitness levels? Making changes to our line-up is always a consideration. We now have another busy game week ahead of us, so we definitely won't have the same starting line-up for all our games. Positive results always make everything easier. However, in every season there's always a phase where you have to handle setbacks. That doesn't change anything about my responsibilities as a head coach. It's about making sure the team are as well prepared as possible for the next game. We want to improve in those areas that have defined us for much of this season." 
Article image:"Play with intensity" – Ole Werner ahead of #KOERBL

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