RB Leipzig – Stuttgart

The home team are in fine form, which will bring them a confident win

Leipzig started this season as national cup winners and the fourth team in the previous Bundesliga competition. And last season's league title might not have earned the Bulls a place in Europe's elite tournament - they were only one point behind Union Berlin. Leipzig started the 2022/2023 season at roughly the same level, but the frequent lapses very quickly wore down the club management, who dismissed Domenico Tedesco, taking his place with the previously trained Marco Rosé. Despite this coach having failed to produce any noticeable results for Borussia Dortmund, Leipzig's progression stretched from match to match. The Bulls are currently riding a 15-match losing streak that began on 1 October 2022. During this period, Rose's side broke into the top 4 of the Bundesliga and confidently secured a trip to the Champions League play-offs. Since the resumption of the German championship, Leipzig have finally established themselves as a "second force" here. That was confirmed by a draw against Bayern in a tie, as well as a 6-1 away win over Schalke. Such results were achieved without their top scorer, Nkunku, who has been out with injury for two months now. This confirms the Bulls' high team efficiency and their lack of dependence on individual players. Stuttgart finished last season on level terms with Hertha Berlin, who were relegated to the play-offs for the remainder of their division. Given that Stuttgart had barely strengthened in the transfer market before the start of the season, bookmakers were rightly betting on them as one of the candidates for relegation. After the first round, the team is not in the red zone, but their lead over 17th place is just two points. Stuttgart resumed the season with draws against Hoffenheim and Mainz. The last time the Labbadia team were without a loss in three straight rounds from late August to early September 2022, which makes their success at the Red Bull Arena even more dubious. In the first leg, Stuttgart scored the first points against Leipzig (1-1) in four years. Prior to that, the club had lost all six games against the Bulls. We're betting on a convincing win for the home side.