Leipzig-Union Berlin is a match of the 20th day of the Bundesliga and is played on Sunday at 5:30pm: TV, likely lineups, predictions.
The Christmas break certainly did not do Leipzig any good, as they have exclusively suffered defeats in 2024. A return from the vacations completely to forget for the Roten Bullen, bypassed in the standings by Borussia Dortmund and slipped to fifth place, out of the Champions League zone. Blame the three consecutive knockouts against Eintracht Frankfurt, Bayer Leverkusen and Stuttgart, three missteps that downsize the ambitions of Marco Rose’s lineup, since they came against three direct competitors.
The absence of midfielder Xavi Simons, on loan from PSG, was felt more than expected on the last day against Stuttgart (5-2).At the Mercedes-Benz Arena, Leipzig cashed in one of the heaviest defeats of the season, which exposed some worrying defensive frailties. The red and white rearguard, in fact, had already ended up in the crosshairs of criticism in the previous round, with Leverkusen managing to find the way of the goal a little too easily. A passing crisis or is there cause for concern? It’s up to Rose to try to figure out the nature of these problems, but the former Borussia Dortmund coach has to be quick: this year the fight for the top four spot is even fiercer.
Union Berlin in slight recovery
Leipzig will try to break the negative mini-series in the last Sunday post-match with Union Berlin, which is trying to get out of a situation that has become very complicated.
The Capitolini, after touching the sky with one finger last season – fourth place and historic pass to the Champions League – due to a nightmarish start (only defeats between September and November) today are back to fighting not to relegate. With the new coach, Croatian Nenad Bjelica, there has been some progress but there is still a long way to go. Last Sunday, meanwhile, Union Berlin picked up their second win in their last four games, beating Darmstadt 1-0 and moving to +5 over third-last place.
The Prediction
Union Berlin has appeared confident in recent outings and can create some headaches for a Leipzig side that is going through the most difficult moment of its season. This time the Roten Bullen will avoid defeat in a match of at least one goal on each side.
The likely lineups for Leipzig-Union Berlin
LIPSIA (4-4-2): Blaswich; Henrichs, Klostermann, Lukeba, Raum; Xavi Simons, Seiwald, Schlager, Dani Olmo; Šeško, Openda.
UNION BERLIN (3-1-4-2): Rønnow; Knoche, Vogt, Leite; Král; Trimmel, Tousart, Schäfer, Gosens; Bedia, Hollerbach.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 2-1
