RB Leipzig have started the season well and sit fourth in the fledgling Bundesliga table after two games, and play host to struggling Schalke 04 on Saturday.

Schalke have endured a dire start to their league campaign and are bottom of the table on goal difference, having lost both of their opening two fixtures, and will not be looking forward to their trip to Leipzig.

Match preview

RB Leipzig defender Dayot Upamecano pictured on August 13, 2020 © Reuters

Leipzig have finished second or third in three of their last four Bundesliga seasons - finishing sixth the other year - and once again look like one of the best teams in the division.

They boasted the second-best defence in the league last term and scored an impressive 81 goals in 34 games, but were held back by failing to convert draws into wins.

Leipzig only lost four league games last season - the same number as eventual champions Bayern Munich - but their 12 draws was the joint-highest tally in the Bundesliga.

They were held again in their last outing by Bayer Leverkusen, and exciting young manager Julian Nagelsmann knows his side must be more ruthless and turn one point into three more consistently if they are to truly challenge for the league title.

Schalke have much bigger problems, however. They last won a Bundesliga game in January and are on an 18-game winless run in the competition.

Head coach David Wagner was relieved of his duties after their last match - a 3-1 home defeat against a Werder Bremen side that barely avoided relegation last season and were missing Milot Rashica - and have appointed former Augsburg manager Manuel Baum to replace him.

Baum's first game of an unenviable job is a difficult test, and the new boss may look to simply limit the damage and avoid a repeat of the 8-0 hammering by Bayern Munich that Schalke suffered on opening day.

The club's subsequent league outing against newly-promoted Union Berlin at home may prove a more realistic target to end their winless streak.

RB Leipzig Bundesliga form: WD
RB Leipzig form (all competitions): WWD

Schalke 04 Bundesliga form: LL

Team News

RB Leipzig head coach Julian Nagelsmann pictured on May 27, 2020 © Reuters

Leipzig boss Nagelsmann has a fairly lengthy list of absentees ahead of the visit of Schalke, including a number of key players.

Yussuf Poulsen was withdrawn in the first half against Leverkusen, and joins Marcel Sabitzer, Ibrahima Konate and Konrad Laimer on the treatment table.

Fabrice Hartmann is also out with an ACL injury and will not be back this calendar year.

New Schalke manager Baum is missing just three players ahead of the trip to Leipzig.

Amine Harit and Suat Serdar are both sidelined through injury, while Ozan Kabak is suspended.

RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:
Gulasci; Mukiele, Upamecano, Klostermann; Haidara, Adams, Kampl, Tasende; Olmo, Forsberg; Sorloth

Schalke 04 possible starting lineup:
Fahrmann; Rudy, Sane, Stambouli, Oczipka; Mascarell, Bentaleb; Boujellab, Uth, Raman; Paciencia

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We say: RB Leipzig 2-0 Schalke 04

Leipzig should win this comfortably, but may be denied a big scoreline by the absence of their regular striker and the fact that new Schalke boss Baum may instruct his side to sit deep and play for a point.

Top betting tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a home win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a RB Leipzig win with a probability of 65.92%. A draw had a probability of 19.8% and a win for Schalke 04 had a probability of 14.27%.

The most likely scoreline for a RB Leipzig win was 2-0 with a probability of 11.53%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (11.05%) and 2-1 (9.82%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.41%), while for a Schalke 04 win it was 0-1 (4.51%). The actual scoreline of 4-0 was predicted with a 4.2% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that RB Leipzig would win this match.