Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig will be eager to begin their Bundesliga campaigns strongly when they clash at BayArena on Saturday.
The 2023/24 Bundesliga season is kicking off on Friday, with reigning champions Bayern Munich taking on Werder Bremen at Weserstadion. And the action on Saturday will begin with five simultaneous fixtures. One of those games will see Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig locking horns at BayArena.
Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig changed managers at some stage in the 2022/23 season. And both new coaches guided their teams to reasonably memorable campaigns. While Leipzig saw Marco Rose guiding them to a comfortable top-four finish after a horrendous start, Xabi Alonso helped Bayer Leverkusen finish sixth in the Bundesliga while reaching the UEFA Europa League semi-finals.
Meanwhile, the hosts have been active in the transfer market, signing half-dozen players. But their pre-season campaign was a mixed bag, as they lost two and won as many games. On the other hand, Leipzig played five games in their pre-season campaigns, producing a similar return to the home team.
Like Bayer Leverkusen, the visitors have been busy in the market this summer, signing nine players while parting ways with nearly a dozen members. And they have started their 2023/24 campaign with a bang, beating Bayern Munich 3-0 in the DFL Supercup last week.
The corresponding fixture last season ended in a 2-0 win for Bayer Leverkusen, with then-Leipzig playmaker Dominik Szboszlai seeing red. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Bayer Leverkusen
💬 @XabiAlonso on personnel: "Gustavo #Puerta is back. He trained well during the week and is in the squad."
Missing:
❌ #Adli (Suspended)
❌ #Hincapie (Suspended)
❌ #Azmoun (muscle tendon injury in calf)
❌ #Schick (rehab after adductor surgery)#B04RBL pic.twitter.com/h8KPVfyquN— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) August 18, 2023
Xabi Alonso has a gamut of roster issues hampering his preparations ahead of his side’s season-opening fixture. Against RB Leipzig on Saturday, the Bayer Leverkusen manager will be bereft of the services of five first-team players.
Amine Adli and Piero Hincapie are serving their respective suspensions and will take no part in this weekend’s game. Meanwhile, Sardar Azmoun (calf) and Patrik Schick (groin) are in the treatment room. Gustavo Puerta faced a race against time to become available but has regained fitness and will be in the matchday squad.
Lukas Hradecky is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Bayer Leverkusen lining up in a 3-4-2-1 formation in front of him. And the home side will field three exit-linked defenders in the back three, with Odilon Kossounou, Jonathan Tah, and Edmond Tapsoba forming the central defensive unit. Each centre-back is on the radar of multiple Premier League clubs.
The 3-4-2-1 formation allows the wing-backs to express themselves. And the prolific duo of Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo will look to wreak havoc on the flanks on Saturday. Meanwhile, the duo will not have many defensive responsibilities, with the midfield pairing taking care of that.
Granit Xhaka and Exequiel Palacios will form a defensive-minded double pivot, looking to keep things tight in the middle of the park. Finally, the offensive trifecta should feature Victor Boniface, Florian Wirtz, and Jonas Hofmann.
Probable Lineup (3-4-2-1): Hradecky; Kossounou, Tah, Tapsoba; Frimpong, Palacios, Xhaka, Grimaldo; Hofmann, Wirtz; Boniface
RB Leipzig
Like his counterpart in the Bayer Leverkusen dugout, Marco Rose will have some fitness issues to deal with ahead of the trip to BayArena. The RB Leipzig manager might be without five first-team players on Saturday.
Peter Gulacsi (knee) and Amadou Haidara (calf) are the two most notable absentees. El Chadaille Bitshiabu is also unavailable due to a knee injury. Meanwhile, Caden Clark (knock) and Kevin Kampl (muscle injury) face a race against time to be available for Saturday’s clash.
Gulacsi’s continued absence means Janis Blaswich will be the automatic pick between the sticks for RB Leipzig. And the visiting team will line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of the German shot-stopper.
RB Leipzig head coach Marco Rose:
🗣️ "It was important to work hard and defend well during the Supercup in Munich. That will also be important on Saturday in Leverkusen. We are up against a physical and technically proficient side who also play at a fast tempo."#B04RBL pic.twitter.com/jnW2AMepFS
— RB Leipzig English (@RBLeipzig_EN) August 18, 2023
The back four will morph into a defensive trifecta depending on the game’s phase. But the two full-backs — Benjamin Henrichs and David Raum — will also get the license to express themselves in the final third. Meanwhile, Mohamed Simakan and Willi Orban should be the two centre-backs.
As for the midfield unit, Xaver Schlager and Nicolas Seiwald should form the double pivot. The duo will aim to keep things tight in the middle of the park, but the visitors might feel the absence of Konrad Laimer, who has joined Bayern Munich.
Dani Olmo was on fire against Bayern Munich last weekend. And he will look to pull the strings in the final third, enabling Xavi Simons and Timo Werner to join record signing Lois Openda in and around the box. The trio will aim to create overloads in the final third, putting the Bayer Leverkusen defenders under pressure.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Blaswich; Henrichs, Simakan, Orban, Raum; Schlager, Seiwald; Simons, Olmo, Werner; Openda
Key Stats
- Only against Bayern Munich (0.84) do Bayer Leverkusen have a lower points per game average than versus RB Leipzig (0.93). And only against Dynamo Dresden do they have a lower win percentage in the Bundesliga (13%) than versus Leipzig (21%).
- After going winless in their first six Bundesliga home games against RB Leipzig, Bayer Leverkusen finally managed a victory at BayArena in the seventh attempt, winning the corresponding fixture last season 2-0.
- RB Leipzig have won their last five Bundesliga games, currently the longest winning streak of any German top-flight team. In contrast, no other club is currently on a longer winless run in the Bundesliga than Bayer Leverkusen’s five (D3 L2).
- Had the league started on Matchday 6 of 2022/23, Marco Rose’s RB Leipzig would have become champions on 61 points, one ahead of Bayern Munich.
- RB Leipzig have won three of their last four away games in the Bundesliga, with the only defeat coming in the corresponding fixture against Bayer Leverkusen. In 2023, they are only behind Borussia Dortmund (18) for points collected on the road with 16. Meanwhile, they have conceded a league-low seven goals on their travels thus far this year.
Player to Watch
Dani Olmo
Dani Olmo comes into what should be a crucial season for him. The Spanish international did not have a great time in the 2022/23 campaign, with injuries troubling him and his form subsiding. So he will be delighted at starting the new term with a match-winning hat-trick in the DFL-Supercup last weekend.
Meanwhile, he has recently emerged as a target for Manchester City, who will fast-track the move to sign him after losing Kevin De Bruyne to a long-term injury. So more impressive performances should pave the way for a big-money move. And even if he does not leave, the Spaniard will be eager to stamp his authority this term.
Prediction
Bayer Leverkusen 1-2 RB Leipzig
The head-to-head history between Bayer Leverkusen and RB Leipzig is lopsided. And the hosts have seldom managed to beat Die Roten Bullen in the Bundesliga, with their first home win coming last season. In addition, Marco Rose’s men have been exceptional travellers in 2023.
The visitors also come into Saturday’s clash with momentum and positive vibes after comfortably beating Bayern Munich. So the odds should be in RB Leipzig’s favour against Bayer Leverkusen. And The Hard Tackle predicts the visiting team to clinch a 2-1 win at BayArena, starting the new season with a bang.
