Bundesliga: The Red Bulls and the Foals Lock Horns in Leipzig

RB Leipzig vs Borussia Monchengladbach

RB Leipzig have the last Champions League berth on top of their minds when they host Borussia Monchengladbach for this Saturday’s Bundesliga super clash.

The fourth-placed Red Bulls are coming off a 2-1 loss against the red-hot Borussia Dortmund, and now they’re tied at 42 points apiece with the fifth-seeded SC Freiburg, who have a winnable game against Hoffenheim.

Borussia Monchengladbach have had a mixed bag of Bundesliga 2023 results. They were just held to a goalless draw by SC Freiburg, and they head into this match missing several key players.

SC Freiburg and Mainz are hoping that RB Leipzig will slip up again this weekend to bolster their top four chances, but the SBOTOP odds have the Red Bulls as the huge favourites over the Foals.

Talking Points

Leipzig have depth to cope with injuries

Christopher Nkunku just couldn’t get a break as he limped off the pitch once again in RB Leipzig’s 2-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund.

The Frenchman made his first start on Friday since returning from a knee injury that sidelined him for three months, but he only played for 83 minutes due to a strained thigh.

He is now listed as doubtful against the Foals and also against the Sky Blues for the second leg of their Champions League tie on Tuesday, and manager Marco Rose indicated that Nkunku is set for “another spell on the sidelines.”

Nkunku is RB Leipzig’s only double-digit scorer this season, with 15 goals and two assists. With him injured once more, Timo Werner, Andre Silva, and Emil Forsberg are expected to pick up the scoring load.

Werner, Silva, and Forsberg have 21 goals and 10 assists between them this year. Forsberg was the team’s latest scorer, as he recorded the only goal at Dortmund last Friday.

RB Leipzig also confirmed that Xaver Schlager is out for a long time because he underwent surgery for his torn ankle ligament. Marco Rose is hoping to have Dani Olmo 100-per cent healthy so that he’ll take Schlager’s spot in midfield.

Gladbach compromised at the back

The Foals won’t have their first-choice goalkeeper in Jonas Omlin since he hasn’t fully recovered from his thigh injury. In turn, Tobias Sippel will continue to man the goalpost this weekend.

Omlin is not the only one on their injured list, as he joins fellow defenders Tony Jantschke (knee), Jan Olschowsky (stomach), and Julian Weigl (ankle) on the sidelines too.

Nico Elvedi and Kou Itakura will remain their first-choice centre-backs, while Stefan Lainer has nailed the right-back spot. However, they’ll be without Ramy Bensebaini, who was sent off in their draw against SC Freiburg.

Bensebaini’s absence means that Luca Netz will get his shot at a starting role for Borussia Monchengladbach. If the 19-year-old full-back does well, it would help the Foals in their long-term plans since Bensebaini is expected to leave the club anyway this summer to join Borussia Dortmund on a free transfer.

History

Borussia Monchengladbach have won their last two Bundesliga games against RB Leipzig at home. They won 3-0 in the reverse fixture last September, when Jonas Hofmann recorded a brace and Ramy Bensebaini added one for good measure.

Since losing 3-0 to the Foals, the Red Bulls have enjoyed a 12-game undefeated run (W8, D4), but they have lost two of their last four Bundesliga games and could now suffer back-to-back losses for the first time this season.

However, the Foals have won none of their last six Bundesliga games against RB Leipzig at the Red Bull Arena (D3, L3), conceding 14 goals during these six matches and never securing a clean sheet.

RB Leipzig (26) have been one of the Bundesliga’s best clubs at home this season, with only Borussia Dortmund (28) having collected more points. They have only ever recorded more points from their first 11 home league games in 2016-17 and 2020-21 (28 each).

Betting Tip

The Bundesliga 2023 odds predict that RB Leipzig will win on Saturday, as they’re installed at 1.40, while Borussia Monchengladbach are the underdogs at 5.60, and a draw is at 4.80 in the 1×2 market.

Borussia Monchengladbach managed to beat RB Leipzig handily in their last meeting. However, a lot has changed since September 2022, and we feel that the Red Bulls are more equipped to take three points on Saturday. Since 2021, goals have come in bunches between these two sides, so you can’t go wrong going for Over 3.00 at 1.90 or Total Goal 4-6 at 2.63 as alternatives.

 

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