RB Leipzig vs. Hamburger SV preview: Hosts aim to bounce back against bottom side

LEIPZIG (Bulinews): Bulinews.com has travelled to Leipzig to cover Sunday afternoon’s Bundesliga clash at the Red Bull Arena between two teams who could both really use a win.

RB Leipzig

Pressure is already beginning to build on new RB Leipzig head coach Martin Demichelis. After opening his tenure with two promising victories, Leipzig have since suffered back-to-back defeats, losing 3-1 to Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga before being thrashed 4-1 by Como in the Champions League on Thursday.

While an away defeat to Como isn't necessarily cause for alarm on its own, the manner and margin of the loss should concern Demichelis and his superiors. Leipzig repeatedly left themselves exposed by playing a high defensive line, with Como able to exploit the space in behind on several occasions.

RB Leipzig captain David Raum voiced his frustration after the match, admitting his side had been well below their best:

“We really took a beating tonight. The first half wasn’t good at all, while the second half was a tad better. Overall, however, it was a poor performance from us. We need to learn from this and make some changes as soon as possible," he said.

The expectation will be for Leipzig to respond immediately with a home victory against bottom-placed Hamburger SV on Sunday. They can take confidence from their recent record against Die Rothosen, having won each of their last four meetings.

Team News

RB Leipzig will be without Christoph Baumgartner (thigh), Viggo Gebel (knee), Lukas Klostermann (groin) and Rocco Reitz (hamstring)

Hamburger SV

It has been a disastrous start to the season for Hamburger SV, who sit rock bottom of the Bundesliga table with 0 points and a 0-7 goal difference following their first two matches.

Late transfer-window business – including signing last season's key loanee Fábio Vieira on a permanent deal from Arsenal – injected a wave of optimism ahead of their home match against Mainz, but that feeling quickly evaporated as Urs Fischer's team thrashed HSV 0-5 at the Volksparkstadion.

HSV will now be eager to snap a four-game losing streak against Leipzig and finally get their first points on the board – but head coach Merlin Polzin knows major adjustments are needed if his side are to take anything from the match.

"There are many things we want and need to work through in order to do better next week," Polzin openly admitted following the defeat to Mainz.

Team News

HSV will definitely have to manage without Fernando Dickes (shoulder) and Alexander Røssing-Lelesiit (ankle). 

Sebastiaan Bornauw, Miro Muheim (muscular), Warmed Omari (shoulder), and Immanuel Pherai (ill) are all questionable.

Predicted Lineups

Click here to see our predicted RB Leipzig vs. Hamburger SV lineups.