Fourth faces sixth in the Bundesliga on Saturday afternoon as RB Leipzig play host to Eintracht Frankfurt at the Red Bull Arena.
While Die Roten Bullen are looking to claim their fifth successsibe top-flight home victory, the Eagles have seeking to avoid a third successive defeat on the road.
Match preview
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There were plenty of positives to take from the festive period for RB Leipzig as they won four successive games in all competitions at the start of December, but they were forced to settle for just a point in a 1-1 draw with Werder Bremen in their final match of 2023.
That result has subsequently allowed Stuttgart to leapfrog them into third spot and Marco Rose's men now sit fourth in the table, nine points behind leaders Bayer Leverkusen, although they still boast a six-point gap to Borussia Dortmund in fifth.
Die Roten Bullen have since made a winning start to the New Year after they beat Swiss outfit St Gallen 1-0 in a friendly last weekend, courtesy of a third-minute strike from Xaver Schlager.
Rose's men are now gearing up for five home matches in their next seven competitive fixtures in all competitions and they will welcome a return to the Red Bull Arena where they have won each of their last six games, scoring 19 goals in the process; Leipzig have also not lost any of their last 12 Bundesliga home matches.
With two tricky encounters against Leverkusen and Stuttgart on the horizon, Leipzig will be keen to collect all three points against a Frankfurt outfit whom they have beaten in their last two meetings – as many victories as in their previous 13 encounters combined.
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Frankfurt experienced a mixed end to 2023 as they suffered successive losses without reply away against Aberdeen and Leverkusen in between a surprise 5-1 home triumph over Bayern Munich and a dramatic 2-1 comeback win against Borussia Monchengladbach last time out.
The Eagles scored twice in second-half stoppage time to snatch maximum points from Monchengladbach and rise to sixth in the Bundesliga standings, albeit still nine points behind Saturday's opponents Leipzig in fourth.
Dino Toppmoller's men have since made a disappointing start to the New Year as they suffered a 5-2 friendly defeat to Freiburg last weekend, with the Frankfurt boss admitting after the match that his side need further reinforcements before the January transfer window slams shut.
A trip to Leipzig is up next for Frankfurt who have lost each of their last four away matches, drawing a blank in front of goal in their last three, while they have failed to win any of their last eight visits to the Red Bull Arena.
The Eagles have won four of their last five Bundesliga matches at the start of a calendar year, though, and success on Saturday would provide Toppmoller and co with a much-needed boost before preparing for a favourable run of fixtures against SV Darmstadt 98, Mainz 05 and Koln who all sit inside the bottom three at present.
Team News
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RB Leipzig have bid farewell to Emil Forsberg and Timo Werner, with the former joining New York Red Bulls on a permanent basis and the latter signing for Tottenham Hotspur on loan, while Willi Orban remains sidelined with a knee injury.
The hosts will also have to cope without Amadou Haidara as he is away on international duty with Mali at the Africa Cup of Nations, but Dani Olmo could be in a position to make his first appearance since the end of October after making progress in his recovery from a shoulder injury.
New signing Eljif Elmas, a €23m January addition from Napoli, is in contention to make his debut, while Lois Openda, Xavi Simons and Mohamed Simakan are all expected to feature in the starting lineup even though they are just one booking away from a suspension.
As for Frankfurt, Timothy Chandler and Sebastian Rode are both nursing calf injuries, while Fares Chaibi, Omar Marmoush and Ellyes Skhiri are representing Algeria, Egypt and Tunisia respectively at the Africa Cup of Nations.
Manchester United loanee Donny van de Beek, who played for 45 minutes in the friendly with Freiburg last weekend, is in contention to make his debut along with striker Sasa Kalajdzic, who has joined on loan from Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Left-back Nathaniel Brown made a permanent switch to Frankfurt from Nuremberg this month, although the 20-year-old is not expected to start ahead of Philipp Max.
RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:
Blaswich; Henrichs, Simakan, Castello, Raum; Baumgartner, Schlager, Kampl, Simons; Openda, Poulsen
Eintracht Frankfurt possible starting lineup:
Trapp; Tuta, Koch, Pacho, Max; Knauff, Gotze, Larsson, Dina Ebimbe; Van de Beek; Kalajdzic
We say: RB Leipzig 2-1 Eintracht Frankfurt
Games involving Leipzig have been entertaining to say the least in recent months, as both teams have scored in each of their last nine matches, while Rose's men have not kept a clean sheet in any of their last 11 competitive games, which bodes well for Frankfurt on Saturday.
However, the away team has never won this fixture in 14 previous meetings and we believe that Leipzig have the firepower at their disposal to outscore the Eagles on home soil.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Top tip
Oliver Thomas
