Gladbach vs. Leipzig preview: RB look to continue hot form
Leipzig have won five of their six matches to start the season, while 14th-place Gladbach are still on the search for their first three points on Matchday 5.
Gladbach
This revamped Gladbach side have shown glimpses of hope especially offensively in their first few games. However, without a statement performance to date, some supporters are already concerned that Gerardo Seoane may not be the right man for the job.
They did steal a late point against 10-man Darmstadt last week, but there is a lot of work to still be done defensively. It doesn’t get any easier this week against lightning-quick Leipzig, but Gladbach were able to tie down defender Nico Elvedi with a contract extension until 2027 this week.
Seoane stated, "I'm expecting a completely different game against Leipzig than last time out in Darmstadt. We will need to be extremely compact and not leave space in between the lines. I expect defensive solidarity in my team."
Team News
Tomas Cvancara is questionable, meaning Jordan should start up front. Manu Kone and Christoph Kramer are squad options after both returned to training this week, while Stefan Lainer and Jonas Omlin are not available.
RB Leipzig
Leipzig are flying under Marco Rose and haven’t skipped a beat despite losing several key contributors over the summer. They defeated Young Boys in the Champions League on Tuesday, proving they’ll be just fine even without the injured Dani Olmo.
Rose has interestingly preferred veteran Yussuf Poulsen to Benjamin Sesko and Timo Werner up front, stating, "(Poulsen) understands when and where to close the spaces.” Xavi Simmons has been electric in attack and both full-backs (Raum and Henrichs) have improved their play this season.
A win against Gladbach will provide Leipzig with their 5th straight win in all competitions.
Former Gladbach coach Rose commented, “Saturday's game will be all about bouncing back for (Gladbach) following their first-half performance against Darmstadt. They'll be feeling the pressure and will want to put in a big performance in front of a home crowd as a result.”
Team News
Olmo, El Chadaille Bitshiabu, Amadou Haidara, and Willi Orban are all out. Lukas Klostermann will be back in the squad.