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BULLS VS WOLVES

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All eyes will be on Sunday night’s fixture when RB Leipzig hosts Wolfsburg at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig. Both the teams are well on course to win a ticket to Europe’s biggest competition next season, the Champions League. Though Leipzig has confirmed a seat at the table, Wolfsburg cannot afford to drop points.

Leipzig will be hurting from their midweek 4-1 loss in the DFB Pokal Cup final to Borussia Dortmund while Wolfsburg thumped Union Berlin 3-0 last weekend in the Bundesliga.

 

 

If Wolfsburg manages to secure maximum points out of the clash they would be just one point below Julian Nagelsmann’s team, increasing pressure on them going into the final match. On the other hand, Leipzig would look to earn the title of runners-up this season and a win could consolidate that title for them.

 

 

 

And going into Sunday’s clash Nagelsmann and his troops would look to improve on their record of seven wins in 15 against Wolfsburg. Leipzig has won 11 matches playing at home while on the other hand, Wolfsburg has been just able to win 7 matches without their home fans.

 

If Wolfsburg manages to win their remaining two fixtures, it’ll be the best season for them in their history of Bundesliga in terms of points earned. Though Bayern Munich has already been crowned champions of the land the runners-up and Champions League qualification is still up for grabs. And with Dortmund breathing down their neck, Glasner’s army will have to be at their level-best especially playing away from home.

 

TEAM NEWS

Julian Nagelsmann doesn’t have too many injuries to worry about. He could field his best eleven when facing the Wolves. He would back his senior strikers to get some goals for the team. The German side would heavily depend on the defensive duo of Orban and Upamecano to stop the Wolfsburg strikers from weaving magic on the pitch.

RB Leipzig Probable Lineup: Gulacsi; Klostermann, Orban, Upamecano; Mukiele, Sabitzer, Kampl, Angelino; Olmo, Haidara; Forsberg

 

 

The story remains the same for Olivier Glasner. Apart from winger Renato Steffen and 19-year-old Bartosz Bialek none of the other players have injuries or suspensions.

Wolfsburg Probable Lineup: Casteels; Mbabu, Lacroix, Brooks, Otavio; Schlager, Arnold; Baku, Philipp, Brekalo; Weghorst

 

STAR PLAYERS

Julian Nagelsmann’s squad has many players that could inspire his team to victory on Sunday. Hungarian international Willi Orban could shut down the Wolves’ attack on Sunday. With a total of 140 interceptions, this season the center-back has been the pick of the bunch at Leipzig. Not only Leipzig’s wall in defense, he has been influential up the field as well.

 

 

He has found the back of the net 4 times and also has 4 assists to his name. He would have to lead Die Roten Bullen’s defensive line if they want to win the match at the Red Bull Arena

The last three matches played between the two teams have ended in draws and if Die Roten Bullen wants to finish runners-up, they’ll need to score a few goals up the pitch. They have managed to score 57 goals this season and they owe a large part of it to Emil Forsberg who has scored 8 times this season. He could cause a lot of trouble to the defensive duo of Maxence Lacroix and John Brooks if he finds the ball in space.

 

 

The Swede won’t need a second invitation to shoot and his ability to play perfect passes in tight situations could frustrate Wolfsburg’s defense.

Wolfsburg also possesses a lot of goal-scoring threats whenever they are on the field. They are tied with Leipzig in terms of goals scored in Bundesliga this season. Oliver Glasner would be completely aware of the fact that Leipzig won’t give their strikers an easy opportunity to score. And there he would want Wout Weghorst to step up his game.

 

 

The 4th top scorer of Bundesliga this season can score goals for the Wolves at will. He could easily swift past Dayot Upamecano and the other Leipzig defenders. The tall Dutch international has 20 goals to his name and could prove to be a thorn for Nagelsmann’s company. He could partner up with last week’s hat-trick hero Josip Brekalo to break some ankles on the pitch.

 

 

Not to forget that he defends with every inch of his body and could play a key role in intercepting the ball near the opposition’s goal. 

PREDICTIONS

Leipzig’s pace up the field and defensive abilities could be challenging for Wolfsburg. And after 3 successive draws in their previous meetings, Leipzig could adopt a more attacking way of football and could completely outclass the opposition. FootTheBall predicts Leipzig 3-1 Wolfsburg.

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