RB Leipzig vs. Stuttgart preview: Can Die Roten Bullen continue their unbeaten run?
RB Leipzig will look to extend their unbeaten run to 16 games in all competitions when they face Stuttgart on Friday.
| Photo: Steffen Prößdorf, CC BY-SA 4.0 |
RB Leipzig
Leipzig will be pleased with their efforts in the first two games back following the winter break. They battled hard to hold Bayern to a 1-1 draw on Friday, before they put six past Schalke in midweek to claim a comfortable victory.
André Silva's brace as well as strikes from Benjamin Henrichs and Timo Werner gave Leipzig a four-goal at half time against Schalke. Soichiro Kozuki pulled a goal back for the relegation-threatened side, but Leipzig added two more to the tally through Dani Olmo and Yussuf Poulsen.
Leipzig are currently set in third place, and if they can beat Stuttgart on Friday they will move to within one point of league leaders Bayern Munich, who play a day later against Eintracht Frankfurt.
Marco Rose's side are one of three teams yet to lose a Bundesliga home game this season, while they also boast the joint-best defensive record in the topflight - alongside Union Berlin - after picking up 20 points from their eight home league matches.
Team News
Abdou Diallo, Mohamed Simakan and Christopher Nkunku are sidelined with injury issues, while Peter Gulacsi is ruled out for the rest of the season. Leipzig will also be unable to call upon Kevin Kampl, who will serve a one-match suspension due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
RB Leipzig
Bruno Labbadia is still searching for the first win of his second spell as Stuttgart boss after drawing his opening two games in charge. They looked set to secure all three points in their away meeting with Hoffenheim in midweek, after coming from a goal down to take a 2-1 lead thanks to strikes from Sehrou Guirassy and Wataru Endo. However, Stuttgart were unable to hold on, as Andrej Kramarić equalised in the 94th minute to ensure the contest ended in a 2-2 draw.
Stuttgart are sat just outside the bottom three on goal difference, but if they are to move away from the drop zone then they need to improve on their travels. Die Schwaben are winless in 13 Bundesliga away matches, with their last away league win taking place against Wolfsburg in December 2021.
After failing to do so in their previous nine attempts, Stuttgart will be aiming to claim their first-ever Bundesliga victory over Leipzig.
Team News
Labbadia has confirmed that Tiago Tomas and Silas are sidelined after they were forced off against Hoffenheim. Konstantinos Mavropanos will also miss out after picking up an injury during the midweek draw. Dan-Axel Zagadou, Borna Sosa and Laurin Ulrich remain unavailable, while Naouirou Ahamada is suspended after receiving his fifth yellow card of the season.