Bundesliga: A Five-Star Match Awaits at the Bay Arena

Bayer Leverkusen vs RB Leipzig

Two of the most exciting sides in the Bundesliga will go head-to-head this weekend as Bayer Leverkusen host RB Leipzig at the Bay Arena.

These two squads were in the running for last season’s title up until Bayern Munich asserted their dominance en route to completing a historic treble. But entering the 2020/21 term with clean slates, both of them are eager to start on a great note.

Leverkusen and Leipzig had positive results in the last time out as they took home points to kick off their campaigns and they will look to keep it going.

Both of them are sporting a much different look given what’s transpired in the transfer market.

Bayer Leverkusen lost their star midfielder in Kai Havertz and RB Leipzig lost their star forward in Timo Werner – both coincidentally suiting up for Frank Lampard’s Chelsea.

However, they still have enough quality in their lineup that will make things interesting, and SBOTOP football fans can’t wait for them to go at it this weekend.

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Talking Points

Bayer Leverkusen struggling in their attack

With the departure of Kai Havertz, Die Werkself looked out of it in the last match.

They were held to a goalless draw by VfL Wolfsburg as they failed to find the back of the net for only the second time in the last 20 matches.

It was a record low for Peter Bosz in his two years of tenure as they’ve only mustered three shots on target. In addition, Wolfsburg almost stole the game when Admir Mehmedi scored a goal, but it was ruled offside by the VAR.

However, Bosz remains optimistic about their chances this season and he believes that his club will play better in the next few matchdays.

There were some bright spots however, as Patrik Schick made huge impact in his first game in a Leverkusen uniform.

The former Leipzig forward almost found the back of the net via a header in the 83^rd minute, but it was blocked by Wolfsburg goalkeeper Koen Casteels.

Leverkusen also have the likes of Moussa Diaby, Karim Bellarabi, Charles Aranguiz, Lucas Alario, and Leon Bailey who are capable of producing topnotch Bundesliga 2020 highlights.

Their chemistry will need some work, but they should get better with experience as we go along the season.

RB Leipzig picking up where they left off

In stark contrast, RB Leipzig were firing on all cylinders in their 3-1 victory over Mainz last weekend.

Yussuf Poulsen, Emil Forsberg, and Amadou Haidara have opened their accounts for this season to spearhead an attacking masterpiece that generated 10 shots on target and 23 shots overall.

Their attack was complemented by their hardworking full-backs in Tyler Adams and Angelino as they would do overlapping runs from time to time.

At the same time, Dayot Upamecano and Lukas Klostermann held the fort at the back with the towering presence.

The Red Bulls changed their tactics with the departure of Timo Werner – playing in a possession-heavy style to frustrate their opponents.

As shown last week, Leipzig controlled 73-per cent of the possession and they’ve completed 746 passes.

Julian Nagelsmann's RB Leipzig finished in 3rd place at the end of last season’s Bundesliga campaign — RB Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann and 1. FC Nurnberg’s coach Robert Klauss after the match

Starting life without Timo Werner is a daunting task for the Red Bulls. But more than anything, Julian Nagelsmann has the coaching chops to inspire his team to victories this term.

However, aiming for a top two spot seems like a pipe dream for now.

History

Given that RB Leipzig only entered into the German top-flight in 2016, the sample size of their head-to-heads is small.

In their eight encounters together, Die Roten Bullen won in four while Die Werkself won only once along with three draws.

Last season, both of their matches ended in 1-1 scorelines. Meanwhile, Leverkusen’s only win in this matchup dates back to 2018.

Goals can come in bunches between these two squads as they’ve averaged a whopping 3.50 goals per contest so far.

Betting Tip

	Bayer Leverkusen vs RB Leipzig	1×2 Draw @ 3.60
	September 26, 21:30 (GMT+8)

Similar to the trend last season, this is expected to be a highly-contested affair.

Our Bundesliga 2020 odds have RB Leipzig winning priced at 2.31 while Bayer Leverkusen aren’t far behind at 2.80. But overall, I would recommend a draw priced at 3.60 on this one.

Total Goal 2-3 @ 1.88 seems plausible too. But if you’re feeling lucky, you may place your wagers too on Over 2.50 @ 2.18.

With the departures of Kai Havertz and Timo Werner, many fans are wondering on how these two will fare in this season.

Now it’s just a matter on which young core will step up to the plate, and the chess match between Peter Bosz and Julian Nagelsmann will be quite a sight to see.