Wolfsburg-Leipzig is a match on the 21st day of the Bundesliga and is played on Saturday at 15:30: TV, line-ups, predictions.
Something seems to have jammed up again in the mechanisms of Marco Rose’s Leipzig, who after an excellent post-season restart have slowed down in the last two games. First the blank-net draw against Cologne, then the bitter disappointment in last Saturday’s direct clash with Union Berlin. A slap in the face that hurts a lot, not only because of the comeback suffered (1-2) in a key match. It was an opportunity to consolidate a place in the top four and stay in the wake of Bayern Munich.
Instead, the Roten Bullen were overtaken by Freiburg, slipping to fifth place and finishing -7 behind the Bavarians. A setback that not only interrupted the long positive streak – Leipzig had been unbeaten for 18 matches – but in some ways forced Werner and his teammates to scale back their ambitions, given that until a few weeks ago they had given the feeling that they could really get back into a title fight that was suddenly ‘alive’ again. Rose can still count on the second best attack in the tournament, along with Borussia Dortmund and Eintracht Frankfurt. However, in order to finish in the top four and secure one of the Champions League places, they will need the contribution of their goal scorer Nkunku, who was injured a few days before the start of the World Cup. The French centre forward is about to return and it is not ruled out that he could play a few minutes in the away match in Wolfsburg.
The Leipzig coach against the green-and-whites might decide to make a minimum of turnover, considering that the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 against Manchester City is scheduled for next week. Niko Kovac’s team, on the other hand, is not involved in the European cups and will try to recover the ground lost in the last two outings. After a bang start, Wolfsburg returned to the ghosts, losing to Werder Bremen and Bayern Munich and drawing 0-0 with bottom-of-the-table Schalke 04.
The Prediction
Two teams with high potential but in need of redemption after a couple of disappointing performances. Either way, we are with Leipzig, who have never lost since Rose took the bench and are unbeaten in ten of their last 11 meetings with the green-and-whites. Both score a lot in the final minutes of the game, so it is highly likely we will see a more goal-rich second half than the first.
Wolfsburg v Leipzig matchday squad
- WOLFSBURG (4-3-3): Casteels; Baku, Bornauw, van de Ven, Otavio; Svanberg, Arnold, Gerhardt; Wimmer, Wind, Kaminski.
- LIPSIA (4-4-2): Blaswich; Henrichs, Orban, Gvardiol, Raum; Szoboszlai, Laimer, Schlager, Forsberg; André Silva, Werner.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-2
