RB Leipzig are set to host Augsburg at Red Bull Arena on Saturday in each side's fifth Bundesliga game of the season.
The home team are unbeaten after four games and are in fifth place with eight points, while the visitors have been plagued by inconsistency during their campaign so far and are in 12th place with four points.
Match preview
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After a strong start to the season in which Leipzig won their first two Bundesliga games and ended Bayer Leverkusen's 35-game unbeaten league run with a 3-2 victory on August 31, they have drawn their last two domestic matches 0-0.
Their most recent stalemate was against newly-promoted St Pauli on September 22, and fans will have been concerned that it was their opponents who looked more threatening given they produced 15 shots from inside the penalty area compared to Die Roten Bullen's eight.
Between these two draws, Leipzig also lost their first champions league match 2-1 against Atletico Madrid thanks to a 90th-minute winner from Jose Gimenez.
Of the 18 teams in the top flight, Marco Rose's side rank 14th for xG created, 14th for shots on target per match and just 15th for big chances created.
Rose spoke about his team's recent struggles in front of goal and said that his side are not asserting themselves in games, but he reassured fans that he is capable of addressing the issue.
Leipzig's record at Red Bull Arena has been strong for some time, with the club winning 16, drawing five and losing just two games at home in their last 23 league fixtures.
It should be noted that they have drawn three of their last six Bundesliga matches at home, although they did win the other three and only conceded twice in that period.
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Meanwhile, Augsburg come into the clash having lost 3-2 last time out against Mainz 05 on September 20.
Mainz had taken a 2-0 lead after just 15 minutes but despite Augsburg halving the deficit and having a player advantage from the 35th minute until the 70th minute, Mainz went on to make it 3-1 shortly after half time.
Fuggerstadter boss Jess Thorup spoke to the press ahead of his side's match against Leipzig, and rather than singling out the defence for conceding 10 goals in four league games, he argued that the entire team needs to defend better.
At the other end of the pitch, Thorup's side have scored seven goals, created the seventh most xG and the fifth most big chances, but they have also missed the fourth most big chances.
Though some of their underlying metrics are positive, Augsburg have been in poor form in terms of results and have lost seven of their last nine Bundesliga matches, with their only win coming against St Pauli on September 15.
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Team News
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RB Leipzig will be without midfielder Xaver Schlager until January due to a cruciate ligament injury.
They will also be unable to select midfielders Forzan Assan Ouedraogo and Kevin Kampl until the middle of October, while Eljif Elmas has picked up a knock and is likely to miss a few days.
Castello Lukeba could return to central defence in place of Lukas Klostermann, and he is almost certain to be partnered by Willi Orban.
Lois Openda appeared from the substitute bench last time out due to his exploits in the Champions League, but he can be expected to start up front alongside Benjamin Sesko this weekend.
As for the visitors, striker Samuel Essende was sent off last time out and is suspended for the next match, while Robert Gumny and Daniel Klein are expected to be out with injuries until December and October respectively.
Elsewhere, Augsburg's Reece Oxford has contracted Covid-19 and is unlikely to feature, though Masaya Okugawa could return should he recover from illness before Saturday's game.
Phillip Tietz is a likely candidate to start up front given Essende's absence, and he may be supported in attack by Elvis Rexhbecaj and Ruben Vargas.
RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:
Gulacsi; Geertruida, Orban, Lukeba, Raum; Baumgartner, Haidara, Seiwald, Simons; Sesko. Openda
Augsburg possible starting lineup:
Labrovic; Bauer, Gouweleeuw, Schlotterbeck; Wolf, Onyeka, Jakic, Giannoulis; Rexhbecaj, Vargas; Tietz
We say: RB Leipzig 1-0 Augsburg
While Leipzig have been poor in front of goal this season, it would be surprising if they failed to score for a third consecutive league match.
Considering Augsburg's worrying top-flight record recently, they could struggle to get back into the game if the hosts were to score first.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Lewis Nolan
