In the first round of the DFB-Pokal, RB Leipzig are set to travel to Stadion an der Hafenstrasse on Saturday, where they will face third-division Rot-Weiss Essen.
The home side are currently ninth in the 3. Liga and have three points after two games, while the visitors will begin their 2024-25 Bundesliga campaign against Bochum on August 24.
Match preview
Despite having 62% possession in their opening 3. Liga match, the hosts lost 2-1 against Alemannia Aachen on August 3 and allowed their opposition to produce 13 shots.
In their second game, Rot-Weiss Essen beat Hannover 96 II 3-1, but they were quite fortunate to have only conceded once.
Hannover had 57% possession, 24 shots and missed all three of their big chances, while Rot-Weiss Essen were far more clinical considering they scored all three of their big chances.
RWE were promoted to Germany's third division after winning the fourth tier in 2021-22, and after finishing 15th in 2022-23, manager Christoph Dabrowski will be pleased that his side significantly improved last term and finished seventh.
In their 2023-24 DFB-Pokal campaign, RWE lost 4-3 in the first round on August 13 after Hamburg scored a 117th-minute winner.
Interestingly, Rot-Weiss Essen have lost their last two competitive games at Stadion an der Hafenstrasse and have also lost their last two home ties in the DFB-Pokal.
Opponents RB Leipzig play Bochum in the Bundesliga next weekend and will hope they can improve on their fourth-placed finish in 2023-24.
Leipzig's points tally of 65 last term was one fewer than they achieved in 2022-23 but was seven more than they totalled in 2021-22.
Last season was actually the sixth time in the last eight seasons that Die Roten Bullen have ended a Bundesliga campaign with between 65 and 67 points.
Manager Marco Rose's side ended 2023-24 having scored 77 goals and conceded 39 times in Germany's top flight, and this made them the division's fourth-best offensive and joint second-best defensive team.
Leipzig were eliminated from the DFB-Pokal last season after losing 1-0 against Wolfsburg on October 31.
Rose's team did win the competition in 2022-23 and 2021-22, and prior to the loss against Wolfsburg, they had won or progressed from their last 13 games.
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Team News
Although the hosts were arguably fortunate to have won against Hannover, they could still name a similar starting XI against Leipzig.
Expect Rot-Weiss Essen to field the likes of Michael Schultz and Tobias Kraulich in defence, while Torben Musel could play in midfield.
As for the visitors, they named a strong starting XI in their final pre-season match against Paris Saint-Germain on August 10, and it would not be surprising to see them do the same against RWE.
Regulars such as Lois Openda and Benjamin Sesko could start in the forward line, while Kevin Kampl and Amadou Haidara could play in midfield.
However, Assan Ouedraogo, El Chaidaille Bitshiabu and Christoph Baumgartner are all dealing with injuries and are unlikely to be available for selection.
Rot-Weiss Essen possible starting lineup:
Golz; Alonso, Schultz, Kraulich, Celebi; Safi, Musel, Kaparos, Brumme; Arslan, Vonic
RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:
Gulacsi; Klostermann, Simakan, Orban, Henrichs; Kampl, Haidara, Seiwald, Simons; Sesko, Openda
We say: Rot-Weiss Essen 1-4 RB Leipzig
Given Leipzig's strong showing in the DFB-Pokal in recent seasons, it would be surprising to see them exit the competition on Saturday.
Additionally, if boss Rose names a strong XI as he did against Paris Saint-Germain, they could comfortably progress into the next round ahead of Rot-Weiss Essen.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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