RB Leipzig will expect to earn a comfortable victory when they host VfL Bochum in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
The visitors are winless so far this season, having drawn three of their six league games and already been knocked out of the DFB-Pokal.
Match preview
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Leipzig, on the other hand, continue to go from strength-to-strength under the tutelage of Marco Rose, who boasts a 70% win rate across his 54 matches since replacing Domenico Tedesco last September.
Die Roten Bullen have actually not won either of their last two matches, with a 2-2 draw against the reigning champions Bayern Munich followed up by a late 3-1 defeat at home to Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday, but Rose will have been impressed by his side's performances against both European giants.
However, having taken a 2-0 lead against the Bavarians courtesy of Lois Openda's and Castello Lukeba's strikes within the opening 26 minutes, Harry Kane's converted penalty and Leroy Sane's equaliser meant that the two sides had to share the spoils at the Red Bull Arena.
Instead of heading into this weekend's action ahead of Bayern and Borussia Dortmund in second or third position, then, Leipzig are chasing their rivals once again. Having won 15 of their last 20 league games at home, though, it would be a major surprise if they do not overcome Bochum with relative ease.
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Considering that Bochum have only won two of their last 20 away games in the Bundesliga dating back to the start of last season, Thomas Letsch's side's chances of avoiding defeat in Leipzig on Saturday appear to be extremely slim.
After being thrashed 7-0 by Bayern in their previous match, Letsch would have been determined to see his players bounce back against Borussia Monchengladbach, who had only collected two points from their opening five matches.
However, Florian Neuhaus gave Die Fohlen the lead within 27 minutes, before Alassane Plea's brace essentially settled the match as a contest before the half-time whistle. Bochum showed decent spirit after the break, with Anthony Losilla's strike providing the hosts with a glimmer of hope, but they could not set up a grandstand finish.
Having survived relegation in each of their two seasons since gaining promotion in 2021, Die Unabsteigbaren head into this weekend's action occupying the relegation playoff position, and only a win in Leipzig would be enough to guarantee that they do not sit bottom of the table during the upcoming international break.
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Leipzig may opt not to risk Benjamin Henrichs, who was withdrawn against Bayern due to a muscle strain, meaning that either Mohamed Simakan or Lukas Klostermann could continue to deputise at right-back.
Dani Olmo, El Chadaille Bitshiabu and Willi Orban all remain sidelined sidelined through knee injuries, while former Chelsea striker Timo Werner is a doubt due to a back issue.
Having played two huge matches within the past week, Rose could look to freshen things up with some mild rotation, with Benjamin Sesko and Christoph Baumgartner providing two forward options to come into the hosts' starting XI.
Bochum, meanwhile, will travel without Mateus Bero, Michael Esser, Lys Mousset, Mohammed Tolba and Moritz-Broni Kwarteng, while Jordi Osei-Tutu and Luis Hartwig are both injury doubts as well.
After suffering an extremely disappointing defeat at home to Gladbach in their last match, Letsch is likely to make several alterations to his side, with Christian Gamboa, Philipp Forster and Danilo Soares all knocking on their manager's door for starting berths.
RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:
Blaswich; Klostermann, Simakan, Lukeba, Raum; Kampl, Schlager; Simons, Carvalho; Sesko, Openda
VfL Bochum possible starting lineup:
Riemann; Masovic, Ordets, Bernardo; Gamboa, Losilla, Stoger, Wittek; Forster; Asano, Hofmann
We say: RB Leipzig 3-0 VfL Bochum
Bochum could be travelling to Leipzig at the worst possible moment, with the hosts set to be determined to return to winning ways after putting everything into their matches against Bayern and Man City without receiving the rewards which they would have hoped for.
Rose's side have undoubtedly established themselves as one of the strongest four teams in the Bundesliga, and we cannot see them having any issues at the Red Bull Arena this weekend.
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Top tip
Brett Curtis
