Last season’s runners-up sit outside the European places with more than a third of the campaign played, but a return to the Red Bull Arena for this clash, where they’ve picked up 15 of their 18 Bundesliga points, will be welcomed.
RB Leipzig
A 5-0 battering of Club Brugge in European midweek action could be just what RB Leipzig need to get their stop-start Bundesliga campaign truly up and running. Last season’s runners-up sit outside the European places with more than a third of the campaign played, but a return to the Red Bull Arena for this clash, where they’ve picked up 15 of their 18 Bundesliga points, will be welcomed. A 2-1 win over Dortmund in their last home outing shows that this is a side desperate for another top four finish this campaign, and after scoring in all ten Bundesliga H2Hs vs Bayer Leverkusen even this game against a side three points above them looks winnable. Although with 11 of Leipzig’s last 12 Bundesliga home goals coming after half-time, fans may be left waiting for goalmouth action.
Bayer Leverkusen
While Leipzig’s home form has kept them in the European chase, it’s Leverkusen’s away form that has impressed. The Champions League chasers will travel here as the Bundesliga’s only remaining unbeaten away side, although with only one of those away games coming against a top-half side, this match against a rejuvenated Leipzig side looks to be their biggest away test so far. Leverkusen’s 1-0 win in the last round, which came courtesy of a 4th minute strike, also made clear one of their major strengths this season – starting games explosively. That was their ninth Bundesliga goal scored in the first 15 minutes, a league high and nearly double what Bayern have achieved (five) ahead of the round.
Leipzig’s indispensable star Christopher Nkunku has played more minutes than any outfield player at the club since his arrival – he’s also hit the opener in his last three goalscoring matches and the previous H2H. Florian Wirtz, the youngest-ever player to reach ten Bundesliga goals, has contributed to a Leverkusen win in his last five goalscoring appearances. Both teams have scored before half-time in 60% of the H2Hs.