RB Leipzig are set to play Ligue 1 side Paris Saint-Germain in a pre-season friendly at Red Bull Arena on Saturday.
The home side finished fourth in the Bundesliga last term with 65 points from 34 games, while the visitors won the French top flight with 76 points from 34 matches.
Match preview
This is RB Leipzig's final pre-season game before they begin their 2024-25 domestic campaign against Rot-Weiss Essen in the DFB-Pokal on August 17.
The hosts qualified for the Champions League for the sixth season in a row, and their seventh time since their promotion to the Bundesliga in 2016-17.
Their tally of 65 points was one fewer than they achieved in 2023-24 but was still seven more than they totalled in 2022-23.
Last term in the league, Die Roten Bullen scored 77 goals and conceded 39 times, and this made them the division's fourth-best offensive and joint second-best defensive team.
Manager Marco Rose was appointed in September 2022, and his side ended 2023-24 in strong form having not lost in their final 12 competitive fixtures, including a 1-1 draw against Champions League winners Real Madrid on March 6.
Leipzig lost 3-0 last time out against Wolverhampton Wanderers in a pre-season friendly on August 4, but more positively they have won five of their last seven home matches.
Opponents Paris Saint-Germain finished first in Ligue 1 for the 10th time in the last 12 seasons.
However, the club once again failed to win the Champions League despite significant investment into the squad, and they were eliminated by finalists Borussia Dortmund after losing 2-0 on aggregate in the semi-final.
Considering Dortmund only finished fifth in the Bundesliga in 2023-24, it is difficult to see how last season can be seen as a successful one from Luis Enrique's side.
To make matters worse, Kylian Mbappe's departure to Real Madrid means Enrique will have to find ways of reproducing the Frenchman's output in the final third.
Saturday's game will be Paris Saint-Germain's second pre-season friendly, and in the first they drew 2-2 against Sturm Graz on August 7.
Although Les Parisiens have only lost four times in their last 36 away fixtures, all four defeats have been against teams from outside of France.
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Team News
Xavi Simons has signed for RB Leipzig on loan from the French side once again and could be set for an appearance on Saturday.
Lois Openda will likely start in the forward line, while new goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt could also start the game.
As for the visitors, they will no doubt look to start teenager Joao Neves on Saturday after the newcomer came on in the 60th minute against Sturm Graz.
Elsewhere, it will be interesting to see if Manuel Ugarte makes an appearance given recent reports suggested that talks between Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain regarding a possible transfer had broken down.
RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:
Vandevoordt; Voufack, Orban, Klostermann; Simakan, Haidara, Seiwald, Elmas; Simons; Silva, Openda
Paris Saint-Germain possible starting lineup:
Safonov; Zague, Skriniar, Hannach, Gadou; Kang-in, Neves, Soler, Asensio; Muani, Ramos
We say: RB Leipzig 2-1 Paris Saint-Germain
Considering that Paris Saint-Germain have only played one pre-season friendly so far, it would be surprising if they were to achieve victory.
Additionally, RB Leipzig will be bolstered by their home crowd at the Red Bull Arena and should come into the clash as favourites.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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