RB Leipzig vs. Hoffenheim preview: Red Bull go for three in a row
To round out Saturday’s matches, Hoffenheim travel east to face Leipzig, who can claim their third straight league win and fourth straight in all competitions.
| Photo: RB Leipzig |
RB Leipzig
After a brief dip in form, Leipzig seem back with a winning run that includes a victory over Young Boys midweek to end the Champions League group stage. They sit 4th in the league table, but are still very wary of Dortmund who are right on their heels.
Christoph Baumgartner will face Hoffenheim on Saturday for the first time since he left the club in the summer. If Castello Lukeba can’t play, expect Lukas Klostermann to move into the starting lineup alongside Mohamed Simakan.
Marco Rose said, "Hoffenheim are a very efficient side. They work very hard off the ball. They've got good players and a lot of quality. They deserve to be where they are in the table. We need to play well on Saturday and we'll have a lot of work to do."
Team News
Lukeba and Benjamin Sesko are both questionable with minor injuries, while Willi Orban and Dani Olmo will remain out. Emil Forsberg will play his last match at the Red Bull Arena before his move to Leipzig’s partner club in New York this winter.
Hoffenheim
Following a five-game run without a victory, Hoffenheim got back to winning ways last weekend against Bochum. They are 6th in the table and far removed from their near relegation disaster last season.
It seems that the club has caught a flu bug this week, as several key players are unavailable with illnesses. The loss of Wout Weghorst to a torn muscle fiber is a tough blow, but Robert Skov should return to the lineup and swing balls into veteran Andrej Kramaric.
Pellegrino Matarazzo commented, ""I keep expressing dissatisfaction, but that's because I want to move forward with the team. Nevertheless, I regard the results to date as positive. - We trained the past few days with 15 players. The lads that were present made a great impression though. We hope a few more will return."
Team News
Maximilian Beier, Kevin Vogt, Julian Justvan, and Diadie Samassekouare all sick and questionable. Anton Stach, Florian Grillitsch, Umut Tohumcu, and Ihlas Bebou are also doubts with knocks.
Weghorst, Mergim Berisha, Marco John, and Dennis Geiger are out with long-term injuries. In brighter news, Ozan Kabak and Kevin Akpoguma are both available.