After losing ground in the title race, RB Leipzig will aim to bounce back when they host a resurgent Wolfsburg on Saturday at Red Bull Arena in their 12 Bundesliga match of the season.
Die Roten Bullen are third in the league with 21 points and their 4-3 loss against Hoffenheim on November 23 left them eight points behind leaders Bayern Munich, while the visitors are 11th with 15 points and beat Union Berlin 1-0 last Saturday.
Match preview
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RB Leipzig will be immensely disappointed by their defeat against Hoffenheim considering they led 1-0, 2-1 and 3-2 before conceding twice from the 82nd minute to lose the game.
The hosts also lost 1-0 against Italian side Inter Milan on Tuesday in the Champions League, and while the result is by no means unexpected given their opponents' quality, the loss left the German club third last in the Champions League table in 24th place with no points after five matches.
Boss Marco Rose said in the aftermath of the defeat that he did not wish to sugarcoat the result, saying: "Sometimes you get the feeling, even in the last few weeks, that we're lacking a bit in many areas. I thought we were sharper today. But at the moment it's not enough to get anything worthwhile."
Rose's side have conceded just nine goals in the top flight, but while that is the division's second best record, they only have the Bundesliga's joint eighth best offensive record having scored 18 times.
Die Roten Bullen are in terrible form, with the club losing four and drawing one of their last five outings, conceding on 10 occasions in that period.
Leipzig have won two, drawn one and lost two of their five most recent home games, but it should be noted that they are unbeaten in their past 12 home matches, emerging victorious on eight occasions.
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As for Wolfsburg, they started their 2024-25 campaign in poor fashion, winning just one and losing three of their first five league games.
The Wolves have since triumphed in three, drawn two and been defeated in just one top-flight match, and during their victory last time out against Union Berlin, the victors managed to prevent Union from creating a single big chance.
Head coach Ralph Hasenhuttl said that his team's win was hard fought, telling reporters: "We're happy with the win against a tough, compact opponent. It was exactly the kind of game we expected it to be. We needed a lot of patience because there weren't many scoring chances."
Hasenhuttl's side have won three and drawn two of their five most recent games in all competitions while scoring six, conceding twice and keeping three clean sheets.
The visitors' away form is also strong, with the club having achieved victory in four of their six away fixtures this term, and their only defeat on the road came in a narrow 4-3 loss against champions Bayer Leverkusen on September 22.
Team News
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Both sides have several concerns regarding player availability, with Leipzig unable to call upon defenders David Raum, El Chadaille Bitshiabu and Lukas Klostermann, so expect to see a backline of Lutsharel Geertruida, Willi Orban, Castello Lukeba and Benjamin Henrichs.
In midfield, Rose may start a double pivot consisting of Amadou Haidara and Kevin Kampl considering Forzan Assan Ouedraogo and Eljif Elmas have been ruled out.
Xavi Simons and Yussuf Poulsen will also be unavailable, and this could mean strikers Benjamin Sesko and Lois Openda are supported in attack by Antonio Nusa and Christoph Baumgartner.
Meanwhile, the visitors have injury concerns regarding midfielder Aster Vranckx, as well as forwards Bartosz Bialek, Kevin Paredes and Lovro Majer.
Wolfsburg could field a frontline featuring Ridle Baku, Patrick Wimmer, Mohamed El Amine Amoura and Tiago Tomas.
Left-back Rogerio, centre-back Sebastiaan Bornauw and goalkeeper Niklas Klinger are all on the treatment table, so perhaps Hasenhuttl will field a back four consisting of Kilian Fischer, Denis Vavro, Konstantinos Koulierakis and Joakim Maehle.
RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:
Gulacsi; Geertruida, Orban, Lukeba, Henrichs; Nusa, Haidara, Kampl, Baumgartner; Sesko, Openda
Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:
Grabara; Fischer, Vavro, Koulierakis, Maehle; Dardai, Arnold; Baku, Wimmer, Amoura; Tomas
We say: RB Leipzig 1-1 Wolfsburg
Wolfsburg have been excellent on the road this season and are in good overall form, which makes it difficult to see them losing on Saturday.
Leipzig have struggled for results of late, but given their strong performances in the Bundesliga at home, they should be confident of at least avoiding defeat.
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