Our next opponents: Leipzig, strong at home, looking to improve away form

Position

The season is still in its early stages, yet RB Leipzig have already experienced plenty of ups and downs in the first few weeks. A 6–0 win away at Regional League side Eintracht Trier in the first round of the DFB Pokal and a 3–0 league victory against Borussia Mönchengladbach on the opening matchday were followed by two defeats, which have caused some unease within the club. Within five days, the side led by head coach Demichelis lost twice – first a 3-1 reverse at Werder Bremen on Bundesliga matchday 2, then a 4-1 loss away to first time UCL participants Como in their opening UEFA Champions League group stage match.

Sporting director Marcel Schäfer commented on the situation in a subsequent club statement: “We are very ambitious, yet at the same time self-critical. Our last two results do not meet our standards – we know that, and we’re not trying to sugar-coat it. We are addressing this very clearly internally.” Schäfer also asked for patience. “We made a lot of changes over the summer, integrated new players and, at the same time, have repeatedly had to contend with injuries. Key players are now returning. A newly assembled team needs time to gel and develop its playing style. That is the reality.”

The team once again showed a different side last weekend, winning 5–0 against Hamburger SV. Tidiam Gomis and Antonio Nusa put them 2–0 up early on. After a spell of pressure from the Hamburg team, Leipzig added three more goals within five minutes. Willi Orban, returnee Christopher Nkunku and Romulo turned what had been a closely fought match into a resounding victory, which noticeably lifted the mood in Leipzig. “I think we’ve changed our mentality,” said Nkunku after the match.

Demichelis, who has been in charge of sporting affairs since this summer as the successor to Ole Werner, made five changes to his starting line-up compared with the defeat in Como. After the victory, the Argentine said: “After two tough defeats, this was an important response – not just to win, but to do so in this manner. We scored five goals and kept a clean sheet.” With six points from three matches, RB Leipzig are currently fifth in the Bundesliga. Ahead of the match in Leverkusen, captain David Raum said: “We’re always brave at home, and that’s how we need to perform away from home too.” Across the last two seasons, RBL have lost their last three Bundesliga matches on opposition turf. Most recently in Bremen, and before that at SC Freiburg (1–4) and at Bayer 04 (1–4).

Personnel

Assan Ouedraogo returned to the starting line-up for the first time following a lengthy spell on the sidelines for the victory against Hamburg. However, the Germany international had to be substituted after just 35 minutes. Following a thorough examination, RBL announced that Ouedraogo would be “sidelined until further notice due to a capsular injury in his right shoulder”. Furthermore, Demichelis will be without last season’s top scorer, Christoph Baumgartner, and the hard-working midfielder Rocco Reitz – who was signed from Borussia Mönchengladbach in the summer – for the match in Leverkusen. Both are out with thigh injuries.

In defence, the Argentine head coach has recently relied on the centre-back pairing of Castello Lukeba and RBL veteran Orban in front of goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt in a back four. Orban, now 33, is entering his twelfth season with Leipzig. On the flanks, captain Raum is a fixture on the left. On the right, former Bayer 04 player Benjamin Henrichs was preferred to Ridle Baku in the 5–0 win against HSV. In central midfield, Nicolas Seiwald, Ezequiel Banzuzi and Neil El Aynaoui – on loan from AS Roma on deadline day – are available. The Moroccan made an immediate impact and has demonstrated his quality as a versatile workhorse in defensive midfield in his three appearances so far.

There is a particularly wide range of options in the RBL attack. On the left wing, Antonio Nusa was recently named player of the match in the 5–0 win over Hamburg, scoring one goal and providing two assists. Christopher Nkunku is undoubtedly another game-changer. The 28-year-old Frenchman returned to Leipzig on loan this summer after three years at AC Milan and is expected to make up for the departure of record signing Yan Diomande to Real Madrid. Up to 2023, Nkunku – who is versatile in attack – made 172 appearances for RBL, scoring 70 goals, providing 56 assists and he won the DFB Pokal twice with the team from Saxony. Alongside Nusa and Nkunku, Demichelis has plenty of quality in attack in the form of Johan Bakayoko, Tidiam Gomis, Brajan Gruda, Romulo, the 17-year-old talent Samba Konaté and new signing Marc Guiu (Chelsea).

Problems

“We’ve scored eight goals at home but conceded seven away – we need to sort that out.” Martin Demichelis, once a rock-solid world-class defender for clubs including Bayern Munich and for Argentina, is naturally not happy with his side’s defensive vulnerability on their travels. One possible reason for the defensive shortcomings: numerous injury-enforced absences have forced Demichelis to reshuffle his starting line-up time and again. RBL cannot yet be considered a well-drilled team. Nor do the two clean-sheet home wins against the bottom-of-the-table sides Mönchengladbach and Hamburg serve as a reliable indicator of how solid Leipzig’s new set-up really is.

Performers

Nine goals in three league matches are, of course, still a statement in themselves. Just like last year, the ‘Red Bulls’ have started the season with six points from three matches. The big difference is that, at this stage last season, Leipzig had scored just three goals. This newfound hunger for goals – only SC Freiburg (ten goals) have found the back of the net more often than RB – is in keeping with the club’s ambition to offer its fans even more dominant and attractive football this season. In terms of possession (61 per cent) and pass completion rate (88 per cent), Leipzig also rank third behind FC Bayern (72/90) and Bayer 04 (64/89).

Demichelis is demanding intensity and courage from his team. “We’re trying to improve our play with the ball, particularly in the final third. And we want to be more aggressive without the ball and press higher up the pitch.” Incidentally, it’s not just the attacking players in his team who pose a goal threat. Defender Baku has already scored twice, whilst centre-back Orban bagged a goal against HSV. In total, Leipzig’s nine goals have been scored by seven different players. “When we have our first-choice line-up on the pitch, we’re a formidable side,” veteran Orban is convinced. Team-mate Nusa, in particular, is in impressive form: the Norwegian has already scored two goals and provided two assists.