Eighth place RB Leipzig will welcome second-place Borussia Dortmund to the Red Bull Arena on Saturday night in what looks to be an intense and fiery encounter.

Leipzig come into the match off the back of disappointing one all-draw away at Eintracht Frankfurt as well as crashing out of the Champions League in midweek after drawing at home with Paris Saint-German.

Leipzig know they need to win in order to keep the pressure on the teams above them as they try and chase a European spot for next season, with them only being a point behind FSV Mainz.

Meanwhile, Dortmund come into the match off a resounding two goal to nil victory over FC Köln last weekend, however, they lost at home to Ajax on Wednesday.

Dortmund know that they need to win if they want to keep the pressure on Bayern Munich who sit just one point ahead of them in the race for the Bundesliga title.

Team news

Leipzig coach Jesse Marsch has got several injury concerns ahead of the match primarily in defence. Marcel Halstenburg, Lukas Klostermann, Willi Orban, Marcelo Saracchi are all set to miss out but other than that he should have a fully fit squad.

Dortmund coach Marco Rose has a got mountain of injury problems ahead of the match. Midfielders Emre Can, Mahmoud Dahoud, and US wonderkid Giovanni Reyna are all set to miss out while top scorer Erling Haaland is also going to miss the match.

Predicted lineups

RB Leipzig: Gulacsi, Mukiele, Simakan, Gvardiol, Adams, Haidara, Kampl,  Angelino, Nkunku, Forsberg, Poulsen 

Borussia Dortmund: Kobel, Akanji, Hummels, Pongracic, Meunier, Bellingham, Witsel, Passlack, Brandt, Reus , Hazard

Players to watch

Christopher Nkunku

RB Leipzig have had a difficult start to the season that finds them sitting a measly eighth place in the table nearly 10 points behind league leaders Bayern Munich.

However, one player that has been a shining beacon for them is Christopher Nkunku. so far this season Nkunku has scored four goals and gotten four assists in 10 games domestically, he also managed to score five goals in Leipzig's four champions league games.

Leipzig know he will need to be on top form if they want to beat Dortmund.

Jude Bellingham

Dortmund have made a barnstorming start to the season thanks in no small part to Erling Haaland who is the club's top goalscorer. However, since Haaland has got injured Dortmund have had to find a different solution to goal scoring.

The answer is Jude Bellingham. Bellingham plays a crucial role in Dortmund's midfield playing as a box-to-box player who not only gets forward but also is very good defensively. This season he has already scored three goals and got five assists.

Dortmund will hope Bellingham can put in a brilliant performance to help them achieve victory.

Last time out

The last time these two played was in the DFB Pokal final last season which Dortmund won by four goals to one.

Dortmund started the match brightly and took the lead in the fifth minute with Jadon Sancho getting the goal. Haaland received the ball in the final third before passing the ball to Dahoud who found Sancho who cut inside and bent the ball to the far-hand corner of the goal.

Dortmund doubled their lead in the 28th minute. Marco Reus received the ball and drove at the heart of the Leipzig defence before passing the ball to Haaland who held off the challenge from Dayot Upamecano before cutting in on his left foot and unleashing a shot to the top corner.

Dortmund got their third right on the stroke of half-time with Sancho getting his second goal of the game. Haaland again held off a strong challenge from Upamecano before sending Reus through on goal who unselfishly squared the ball to Sancho who had a very easy tap-in.

Leipzig managed to get a goal back in the 71st minute. Nkunku brilliantly flicks the ball to Dani Olmo on the edge of the Dortmund box before he unleashed a brilliant fierce shot into the top corner of the goal.

However, Dortmund sealed the win in the 87th minute when Haaland like Sancho got his second goal of the game. Sancho ran down the right-wing before squaring the ball to Haaland on the edge of the box who confidently buried it in the Leipzig goal.

How to watch

Fans in the UK can watch the match on sky sports from 17:30 on Saturday evening while fans in the US can catch the game on ESPN +.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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