RB Leipzig will host VFL Bochum in the Bundesliga on Saturday. The guests haven’t had a victory this year; they’ve drawn three of their six league contests.
Preview (RB Leipzig vs. VfL Bochum)
Leipzig, on the other hand, is still improving under the guidance of Marco Rose. He has a 70% winning percentage in 54 games since taking over for Domenico Tedesco in September. The Roten Bullen have lost both of their most recent games. A 3-1 Champions League loss at home to Manchester City after a 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich. Rose will have been pleased with his team’s efforts against both European heavyweights.
But after jumping out to a 2-0 lead over the Bavarians after only 26 minutes thanks to goals from Lois Openda and Castello Lukeba, Harry Kane’s converted penalty and Leroy Sane’s equalizer ensured that the two teams had to split the points at the Red Bull Arena. The result is that Leipzig is once again pursuing Bayern and Borussia Dortmund. However, it would be a great surprise if they did not defeat Bochum with relative ease. They have won 15 of their last 20 league games at home.
Bochum’s chances of avoiding defeat at Leipzig on Saturday appear to be quite remote. They have only won two of their past 20 away games in the Bundesliga going back to last season. Letsch would have been motivated to see his team recover against Borussia Monchengladbach. They had only accrued two points from their first five games.
Alassane Plea’s brace effectively ended the game as a battle before the halftime whistle. Florian Neuhaus gave Die Fohlen the lead after just 27 minutes. After the break, Bochum showed some resiliency, and Anthony Losilla’s goal gave the home team some hope, but they were unable to create a thrilling conclusion. Only a victory in Leipzig would be sufficient to ensure that they do not finish last in the standings during the ensuing international break.
Team News
Benjamin Henrichs was substituted against Bayern due to a muscle strain. He may not play since Leipzig doesn’t want to take a chance. As a result, either Mohamed Simakan or Lukas Klostermann may continue to fill in at right-back. El Chadaille Bitshiabu, Willi Orban, Dani Olmo, and Timo Werner, a former Chelsea striker, are all still out with knee problems, while Timo Werner is questionable with a back injury. Because the hosts have two forward alternatives for the starting XI after playing two important games in the past week, Benjamin Sesko and Christoph Baumgartner could see some light rotation under Rose’s direction.
While Jordi Osei-Tutu and Luis Hartwig are both injury concerns, Bochum will be without Mateus Bero, Michael Esser, Lys Mousset, Mohammed Tolba, and Moritz-Broni Kwarteng. Christian Gamboa, Philipp Forster, and Danilo Soares are all vying for starting positions.
Bochum may be visiting Leipzig at the worst possible time, as the hosts are likely to be driven to resume their winning ways after giving their all in their matches against Bayern and Manchester City but failing to get the results they had hoped for. Rose’s club has unquestionably established itself as one of the top four teams in the Bundesliga, and we do not anticipate them encountering any difficulties this weekend at the Red Bull Arena.
RB Leipzig 3-0 VfL Bochum
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