Our next opponents: Red Bull Leipzig

Position

"The second season in the Bundesliga is the toughest" – given that maxim, most pundits did not believe at the start of the season that RB Leipzig could repeat the feat of finishing second in the league. A prediction that appeared likely for many after the first matchday with a 2-0 defeat for Leipzig at Schalke. Once again, Ralph Hasenhüttl's team proved the opposite with seven of the following ten games ending in victory. Not always with the free-flowing football of the first season but often in the style of an absolutely top team – as in the game before the international break against Hannover 96 where they came from behind to win 2-1, putting them in second place the first time of the season and making them the main challenges to Bayern Munich. In the DFB Cup, RB lost out to Bayern on penalties in the second round. In the first Champions League campaign in the club's history, the Bulls  are third on four points in the group with Besiktas, FC Porto and AS Monaco. 

personnel

In accordance with the club philosophy, the RB squad is full of highly talented young players. Former Bayer 04 Pro Kevin Kampl, who left Leverkusen for Saxony in August, is one of the most experienced players in the team at the age of 27. The top star is, without doubt, Timo Werner. After a meteoric rise last season, the central striker has again been on target this term with six goals in nine league games and is now an essential part of the Germany team. There is a fair chance that Werner will not be the only Leipzig player in Joachim Löw's squad for the World Cup in Russia. Left back Marcel Halstenberg made his debut in last Friday's friendly against England and holding midfielder Diego Demme played his first international in the summer. Both players joined RB as not particularly rated second division pros and are therefore a good symbol of the rapid rise of the club. In Leipzig's 4-4-2 system, other players are responsible for the intricate work, in particular the exceptional technicians Emil Forsberg and Naby Keita. The latter is set to leave the club in the summer to join Liverpool, and both Forsberg and Werner are targets for top European clubs.

ProblemS

In addition to Leipzig players attracting attention from top European clubs, matches against those teams are currently the source of concern among the management. Hasenhüttl's players have struggled to reproduce domestic form in the Champions League, particularly in away games, and they have found it difficult in league games after European matches. That has not yet led to a drastic loss of points (three wins and a draw) but the high pressing and quick counter-attacking favoured by the Austrian head coach was less evident at the end of a long run of fixtures. As long as the points return does not suffer too much under the double workload, it could be a problem the management at Leipzig are happy to live with – also because they may well have to get used to that.

potential

"We haven't reached the end yet we still have the feeling there's much more to come," said the RB coach Ralph Hasenhüttl iin a recent interview on the Leipzig club website and few in German football would argue against that. If the drinks company behind the club maintain their commitment then there is no target too high for RB Leipzig over the long term. The club not only has solid financial foundations but also as an excellent infrastructure. Many of the most important developments at the Red Bulls are long-term. The best example: Even the youngest youth teams at RB  play with the same approach as the Bundesliga team so that players from the academy will be able to make the step up to the first team squad in the future.

prediction

Given the extra fixtures, it seems questionable for the young team to be able to go all the way to the top. Nevertheless, Leipzig are in good shape to play their part once again in the race for Champions League spots. it is quite possible they may finish runners-up again this term if key players like Forsberg and Werner stay fit. If they end the season in third or fourth place, everybody at RB would make the exception of accepting a minor setback.