Seeking to extend their lead at the Bundesliga summit, Bayer Leverkusen travel to the Red Bull Arena to take on RB Leipzig on Saturday evening.
The two teams meet for the first time since the opening weekend of the season in August last year when Die Werkself edged past Die Roten Bullen to win 3-2 in a thrilling contest at the BayArena.
Match preview
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After ending 2023 with four victories and a draw in all competitions, Leipzig were unable to kick-start the New Year in positive fashion as they suffered a 1-0 home defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend.
Despite boasting 26 shots more than their opponents, Die Roten Bullen lacked a clinical edge in the final third and were condemned to their fourth league loss of the campaign by a match-winning strike from Ansgar Knauff, who scored with Frankfurt's only shot on target in the seventh minute.
Four points have been dropped across the last two matches by Marco Rose's men, who remain fourth in the table and have slipped 12 points behind Bundesliga leaders Leverkusen at the halfway stage, while Leipzig have also allowed fifth-placed Borussia Dortmund to shrink the gap separating the two teams to just three points.
After having their 12-game unbeaten home run ended by Frankfurt last time out, Leipzig enter Saturday's clash seeking to avoid losing back-to-back home league matches for the first time since April 2018 when they lost twice under former boss Ralph Hasenhuttl, including a heavy 4-1 defeat to Leverkusen.
Leipzig have lost their last two encounters with Leverkusen and will be wary of the threat that their high-flying opponents will likely pose this weekend, but what bodes well for Die Roten Bullen is that they are unbeaten in their previous five Bundesliga duels against the league leaders, including three victories.
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Bayer Leverkusen appeared to be on course to play out a goalless draw with Augsburg in their first match of 2024, but Xabi Alonso's swashbuckling side snatched victory in dramatic fashion when Exequiel Palacios got on the end of an Alex Grimaldo cross to smash home in the 94th minute.
Die Werkself remain unbeaten and sit pretty are top of the table at the halfway stage for just third time in Bundesliga history after accumulating a total of 45 points from their opening 17 matches; only Bayern Munich (on three occasions) have ever collected as many points in the same period in their league history, each time ending the campaign as champions.
While Leverkusen have rightly received plenty of plaudits for their efforts in attack, they have also excelled in defence having conceded the fewest goals (12) in the Bundesliga so far this season, while they have also kept the joint-most clean sheets (eight), including three in their last three games.
Alonso will be keen to see his side continue to build on their exceptional form as they embark on a mixed run of fixtures against Leipzig, Borussia Monchengladbach, Darmstadt and Stuttgart in the DFB-Pokal, before locking horns with second-placed Bayern Munich next month.
Leverkusen lost their last visit to Leipzig, a 2-0 defeat in October 2022, but they will be confident of success on Saturday as they have put together a 13-game unbeaten run away from home in all competitions.
Team News
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RB Leipzig defender Willi Orban remains sidelined with a knee injury, while Amadou Haidara is away on international duty with Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations.
After recovering from a shoulder injury, Dani Olmo made his first appearances since the end of October as a second-half substitute against Frankfurt, and the playmaker is in contention for a start at the expense of Christoph Baumgartner.
New signing Eljif Elmas made his debut as a substitute last time out and will be pushing for his first start, while Yussuf Poulsen could be recalled to partner Lois Openda in attack, with Benjamin Sesko potentially making way.
As for Bayer Leverkusen, Victor Boniface and Arthur are ruled out with respective groin and thigh injuries, while Edmond Tapsoba, Odilon Kossounou and Amine Adli are all away on international duty at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Florian Wirtz was only fit to feature for the final half hour as a substitute against Augsburg, but the 20-year-old could be in a position to start in the final third this weekend alongside former Leipzig loanee Patrik Schick and Jonas Hofmann.
Alonso surprisingly decided to bench Jonathan Tah last time out despite the absence of fellow central defenders Tapsoba and Kossounou, and the Leverkusen boss instead selected midfielder Robert Andrich at the centre of a back three in between Josip Stanisic and Piero Hincapie. Alonso will be tempted to stick with the same backline, but he will most likely recall Tah, who scored against Leipzig earlier this season.
RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:
Blaswich; Henrichs, Simakan, Lukeba, Raum; Olmo, Schlager, Kampl, Simons; Openda, Poulsen
Bayer Leverkusen possible starting lineup:
Hradecky; Stanisic, Tah, Hincapie; Frimpong, Palacios, Xhaka, Grimaldo; Hofmann, Wirtz; Schick
We say: RB Leipzig 1-2 Bayer Leverkusen
An entertaining yet closely-fought contest is set to be in store between Leipzig and Leverkusen, who have both won three, drawn three and lost three of their last nine meetings against one another.
Leverkusen have already dropped points in two games against fellow top-four teams this term, and Leipzig are certainly no pushovers on their day, but we believe that Alonso's side will ultimately find a way to claim maximum points once again.
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