Wolfsburg will aim to maintain their perfect start to the Bundesliga season when they host last season's runners-up RB Leipzig on Sunday.
The Wolves are the only side in the league to have won their opening two matches, while Die Roten Bullen have won one and lost one under new manager Jesse Marsch.
Match preview
© Reuters
A fourth-place finish last season was Wolfsburg's highest placing since 2015, but manager Oliver Glasner controversially jumped ship to Eintracht Frankfurt in the summer.
Mark van Bommel was appointed as his replacement and the Dutchman has overseen a smooth transition, with the exception of disqualification from the DFB-Pokal for using too many substitutes.
Last season's top scorer Wout Weghorst secured a 1-0 win over VfL Bochum on the opening day, before Lukas Nmecha came off the bench to net the winner in a 2-1 comeback victory against Hertha Berlin last weekend.
The Wolves had the second-best defensive record in the Bundesliga last season, conceding just 37 goals - the only team to let in fewer were RB Leipzig, with 32.
© Reuters
However, Leipzig lost centre-back pair Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate in the summer, as well as Bayern Munich-bound boss Julian Nagelsmann.
New manager Marsch, recruited from Red Bull Salzburg, oversaw a 1-0 defeat to Mainz 05 on the opening weekend – the club's fourth successive away loss in the Bundesliga.
The Saxony outfit bounced back last week though, with a 4-0 win over Stuttgart, helped by a brace from Dominik Szoboszlai, who preceded Marsch's arrival from Salzburg.
Leipzig, who host champions Bayern Munich after the international break, are unbeaten in their last eight matches against Wolfsburg.
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
- L
- W
- W
- L
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Luca Waldschmidt has arrived at Wolfsburg from Benfica this week, but could be denied a debut after suffering a head injury in training.
Lukas Nmecha will be pushing for a start after scoring the winning goal as a substitute last weekend, while younger brother Felix is still lacking match fitness.
William and Bartosz Bialek are both sidelined with knee injuries and Paulo Otavio has an ankle issue.
Jesse Marsch should name an unchanged RB Leipzig side from their thrashing of Stuttgart, with teenager Josko Gvardiol continuing to deputise for the injured Angelino at left-back.
It means that captain Marcel Sabitzer will once again be left on the bench, along with last season's top scorer Yussuf Poulsen.
If Andre Silva plays, it will be his 60th Bundesliga appearance; he has scored 41 goals in the previous 59, with his first for Leipzig coming last weekend after a summer move from Eintracht Frankfurt.
Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:
Casteels; Mbabu, Lacroix, Brooks, Roussillon; Schlager, Arnold; Baku, Philipp, Steffen; Weghorst
RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:
Gulacsi; Klostermann, Orban, Simakan, Gvardiol; Adams, Haidara; Szoboszlai, Forsberg, Nkunku; Silva
We say: Wolfsburg 1-2 RB Leipzig
This will be Wolfsburg's toughest test so far this season and we think it could be their first defeat. Leipzig showed their immense quality against Stuttgart last week and it is hard not to predict an away victory given the talent in their squad.
Top tip
Olly Allen
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a RB Leipzig win with a probability of 53.48%. A draw had a probability of 23.4% and a win for Wolfsburg had a probability of 23.09%.
The most likely scoreline for a RB Leipzig win was 0-1 with a probability of 10.28%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-2 (9.78%) and 0-2 (9.08%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (11.08%), while for a Wolfsburg win it was 1-0 (6.28%). The actual scoreline of 1-0 was predicted with a 6.3% likelihood.
