RB Leipzig have not had a worse period in close to a decade, so this could be Marco Rose's last appearance in the dugout if they lose to Wolfsburg too.
We got used to seeing RB Leipzig contest the Top 4 in the Bundesliga. The team has been a constant troublemaker for the usual elites for years, so it is shocking to see them lose four out of the last five games.
Overall, it's been an interesting season for the Red Bulls. The team remains in contention in the Bundesliga and enters this round as the 3rd in the standings. At the same time, they are one of only three teams in the Champions League without a single point after five rounds. They lost all five games to date.
We are yet to find out if the recent losing streak is a fluke or a proper crisis but Wolfsburg are a tough team to face right now. The Wolves no longer pose the same threat they did a few years ago but right now, but they are going through their best period in a while currently.
They won three of their last five games, including back-to-back wins in the Bundesliga and a win over Dortmund for the DFB Pokal. Their defence has improved a lot and RB Leipzig will have to play their best football to defeat them.
How the bookies view it: Massive home advantage
Despite the recent losing streak, bookmakers back RB Leipzig to win on Saturday. Kwiff priced them at 13/20, while the Wolves are available at 4/1. The draw is also an option at 3/1.
Recent head to head: The home team always wins
This is an interesting rivalry because we rarely get surprises. The away team won only one of the last ten H2Hs, while we saw home wins on seven instances. RB Leipzig have a slight advantage in the overall numbers but it has been a fairly competitive rivalry. The most important fact is RB won four of the last five home games against Wolfsburg.
Players to watch: No Simons, no fun
Both managers will have to force major rotations due to their long injury lists. Plenty of key players will not make it back on time and Xavi Simons is one of them. RB's playmaker is out again and without him, we like to pick Lois Openda.
He hasn't scored in a while and after four defeats on the road this month, he should be fired up to score at home. Overall, Openda has five goals and four assists in 11 Bundesliga games this season.
Probable line-ups
RB Leipzig: Gulasci, Geertruida, Lukeba, Orban, Henrichs, Baumgartner, Kampl, Vermeeren, Nusa, Openda, Sesko
Wolfsburg: Grabara, Maehle, Koulierakis, Vavro, Fischer, Arnold, Dardai, Wimmer, Amoura, Baku, Tomas
Anything else catch the eye?
This is an extremely complicated matchup. On paper, RB Leipzig should be miles ahead. Their squad is much better and statistically, they should be the second-best defensive team in the league. The Red Bull shave conceded a single goal at home this season and remain undefeated when playing in Leipzig.
At the same time, Wolfsburg have had some lovely performances. They can't score a lot but only conceded a single goal in their last five games. The stats simply make this a difficult pick.
Nevertheless, we believe that RB will finally bounce back and secure the three points at home. They love hosting Wolfsburg and have not lost to them at home since 2017. Leipzig are a different team when they play at the Red Bull Arena.
This German Bundesliga match between RB Leipzig and Wolfsburg will be played on Nov 30, 2024 and kick off at 14:30. Check below for our tipsters best RB Leipzig vs Wolfsburg prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
