RB Leipzig – Leverkusen

The centrepiece of the Bundesliga round will feature both sides scoring goals

The centrepiece of the upcoming Bundesliga round will undoubtedly take place at the Red Bull Arena. Leipzig started the current season with an impressive victory over Bayern in the German Super Cup, but lost in the first round of the championship. And not to anyone, but just the upcoming opponent. In that meeting in Leverkusen Bayer led 2:0 and 3:1, but eventually left the field with a minimal victory, allowing the Bulls to score the second goal. From that match began the ascent of the Pharmacists, who finished the first round in first place with a four-point advantage over the reigning champion. At the same time, Bayern have one less match played, which emphasises the precariousness of Bayer's lead in the Bundesliga. This means that the Leverkusen club, despite the fierce opposition of opponents of any class, must win at any stadium collectives of all levels. Only in this case, the championship race with Bayern can turn out to be a success for them. Bookmakers have identified the hosts as the "slight" favourites for the upcoming meeting, offering odds of 2.44 on their victory. The end of last year was certainly successful for Leipzig and will bring its players an additional boost of confidence in the first match of 2024. In the Champions League, the Bulls lost only to Manchester City, coming out of the group in a solid second place. In the Bundesliga, the last four rounds of 2023 brought Leipzig ten points out of a possible twelve. Moreover, the Bulls beaten during this period included a principal rival and competitor in the face of Borussia Dortmund. The new calendar year started for Leipzig with a disastrous home defeat to Eintracht. To assume that the Bulls will not score in the second consecutive meeting in their arena is very doubtful. In the first round, Bayer lost only six points out of 51 possible. Moreover, the team has never learnt the bitterness of defeat. The average performance of "pharmacists" in the first round reached almost three goals per game. Last round Bayer was one step away from losing points in Augsburg, but the winning goal in stoppage time gave them a good boost before travelling to Leipzig. Both rivals will differentiate themselves at the Red Bull Arena.