Carles Martinez knows a big performance from Bayer Leverkusen is needed to beat rivals Koln and get over the frustration of their midweek defeat in the Europa League.Leverkusen return to Bundesliga action on Sunday, aiming to return to winning ways after managing just one victory in their last four matches across all competitions. Martinez watched on as his team suffered their first defeat in the Europa League this season on Thursday, with Amine Gouiri's late stunner earning Marseille a 1-0 victory.Despite the defeat, Leverkusen remain inside the top eight of the 36-team standings, though their attention now turns to the Bundesliga ahead of the international break.Leverkusen are sixth in the table and already five points adrift of leaders Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund after a 4-2 defeat to Stuttgart in their last Bundesliga outing.This will be the first time Martinez has experienced this rivalry, and he was under no illusions as to what a win would mean not only for the team, but the supporters as well. "Obviously we're still frustrated about Thursday, but our focus is now fully on Sunday," Martinez told reporters. "I've spoken to people in the club to find out how these games between Leverkusen and Koln feel. We all know the significance of this meeting."We want to and must give our maximum to get three points."But Martinez has had to deal with several injury absentees, with the likes of Nathan Tella, Martin Terrier, Eliesse Ben Seghir and Moussa Diaby all unavailable for Leverkusen.That has seen the attacking emphasis placed on the shoulders of 30-year-old Patrik Schick and Ibrahim Maza, with the latter enjoying a strong start to the campaign so far. Maza recently scored his third goal of the Bundesliga season, equalling his tally from the previous campaign.Indeed, among all players under 21 in the Bundesliga this season, only RB Leipzig's Tidiam Gomis has scored as many goals. Across the league, Maza has the third-most shot involvements (44), behind Michael Olise (64) and Harry Kane (54).Martinez conceded his team were tired, but he insisted that was no excuse for their performances in recent weeks."I don't want to talk too much about the physical condition. But we weren't up to par. Not even mentally," Martinez added. "We didn't have enough energy on the pitch."PLAYERS TO WATCHKoln – Said El MalaKoln's difficult start to the season has seen them struggle in the final third, with El Mala, along with Thijs Dallinga, their top scorers in the Bundesliga this season with two goals.El Mala has not found the back of the net in the league since October 11 against Borussia Monchengladbach, though he did score twice and provide an assist during Koln's 5-0 win over Union Berlin in the DFB-Pokal last week. Bayer Leverkusen – Patrik SchickSchick has scored in seven of his eight Bundesliga appearances this season (seven goals), with only Patrick Helmes in 2008-09 (eight) netting more goals after eight matches of a top-flight campaign for Leverkusen.The Leverkusen forward has also scored five goals in seven Bundesliga appearances against Koln and is now just three goals away from his 100th Bundesliga goal (currently 97).MATCH PREDICTION: BAYER LEVERKUSEN WINLeverkusen have won their last five matches in all competitions against Koln, only enjoying a longer winning streak in this fixture since the Bundesliga was founded between 2004 and 2009 (six). They have also scored multiple goals in each of those five matches. The Werkself have 13 points from eight matches, their poorest start to a Bundesliga season in four years (five points in 2022-23). Leverkusen recently lost two consecutive Bundesliga games for the first time since January 2026 (two), last losing more in a row in August 2022 (three).Martinez's side have also struggled on the road. Leverkusen have won only one of their last five Bundesliga away games, losing three. They have conceded multiple goals in each of those five matches, which has become a similar theme this term.Indeed, Leverkusen have conceded 16 goals in their first eight Bundesliga matches this season. They have only conceded more at this stage of a campaign twice in their 47 previous Bundesliga seasons, doing so in 1981-82 (18) and 1982-83 (21), with both seasons ending in the bottom half of the table.Koln, meanwhile, have picked up eight of their nine points in the Bundesliga this season at home. Only in 2021-22 (10) have they had as many points after four home games in the last seven seasons.They could remain unbeaten in their first five home Bundesliga games of a season for only the third time in the last 34 years, having previously done so in 2016-17 and 2021-22.OPTA WIN PROBABILITYKoln – 27.1%Draw – 23.6%Bayer Leverkusen – 49.3%