RB Leipzig vs. Bayer Leverkusen preview: Die Roten Bullen out to maintain perfect home record

RB Leipzig

Leipzig are sitting in second spot and nine points adrift of leaders Bayern Munich after winning nine, drawing two and losing three of their 14 league matches. Leipzig enjoyed a three-game unbeaten run in the Bundesliga, before they fell to a disappointing 3-1 defeat in their most recent outing against Union Berlin. Tidiam Gomis equalised on the hour mark to cancel out Oliver Burke’s opener, only for Union to restore their lead and then add a third to condemn Leipzig to their second loss in three away games (D1).

With that in mind, Ole Werner’s side will be looking forward to returning to the Red Bull Arena, where they are yet to drop points this season. In fact, Leipzig are the only team with a 100% home record in the Bundesliga, having won their six home matches by a combined 18-3 scoreline. They scored six of those goals in their most recent home outing against Eintracht Frankfurt, which saw Yan Diomande net a hat-trick in a dominant 6-0 success. 

Team News

Ezekiel Banzuzi, Viggo Gebel, Benjamin Henrichs, Assan Ouédraogo, Johan Bakayoko and Antonio Nusa will all miss out through injury. Meanwhile, Mali’s Amadou Haidara and the Ivory Coast’s Diomande are away with their respective national teams ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations. 

Predicted lineup: Gulácsi; Nedeljković, Orbán, Lukeba, Raum; Maksimović, Seiwald, Schlager; Gomis, Baumgartner, Harder

Bayer Leverkusen

Leverkusen are currently three points adrift of Leipzig after recording eight wins, two draws, and four defeats in 14 Bundesliga matches this season. Die Werkself took maximum points from last Saturday’s derby clash against Köln, claiming a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Martin Terrier and Robert Andrich. That result represented Leverkusen’s fourth victory without conceding in their last five league games at the BayArena (L1).

Kasper Hjulmand’s side will now head on their travels for the first time since a 2-0 defeat against Augsburg ended a run of four consecutive away victories in all competitions. Leverkusen may need to strike first if they are to take three points from Saturday’s, having lost both of the two league games where they have conceded first this season. 

The visitors may be able to take confidence from the fact that they have won two of their last four away meetings with Leipzig (D1, L1) and scored at least two goals in three of those matches. 

Team News

Leverkusen are unable to call upon the injured duo of Exequiel Palacios and Ernest Poku, while a late decision will be made on Alejandro Grimaldo’s availability. 

The visitors are also without Edmond Tapsoba, Eliesse Ben Seghir and Ibrahim Maza, who have all headed off to the Africa Cup of Nations. As for Jarell Quansah, he will serve a one-match ban for an accumulation of yellow cards. 

Predicted lineup: Flekken; Andrich, Badé, Belocian; Arthur, Tillman, García, Grimaldo; Hofmann, Tella; Kofane