RB Leipzig and VfB Stuttgart kick off the second round of fixtures in the 2021/22 German Bundesliga season on Friday night.
The two sides enjoyed contrasting fortunes on the opening weekend of the new campaign. Leipzig were beating 1-0 by Mainz, while Stuttgart thrashed Furth 5-1.
As a result, Stuttgart find themselves atop the table. At the opposite end of the standings, Leipzig are one of six teams without a point to their name.
Despite seeing a whopping 72% possession last weekend, Leipzig conceded on 12 minutes and failed to find a reply.
They also registered 13 shots but only managed to hit the target on two occasions, with new signing Andre Silva firing a blank on his debut.
Looking at the bigger picture, however, Leipzig have only lost four of their previous 24 competitive matches.
Having thrashed SV Sandhausen 4-0 in the first round of the German Cup a fortnight ago, Leipzig will surely be confident of getting the better of Stuttgart.
Meanwhile, Stuttgart hammered BFC Dynamo 6-0 in the first round of the German Cup, with six different players getting on the scoresheet.
They then secured their second thrashing of the campaign last weekend, crushing Furth 5-1 while racking up a remarkable 33 shots – 15 of which were on target.
Marc-Oliver Kempf bagged a brace against Furth, while there were also goals for Wataru Endo, Philipp Klement, and Hamadi Al Ghaddioui.
It is also worth pointing out that Stuttgart enjoyed 68% of the ball last time out and also completed twice as many passes as Furth.
Head-to-head: Leipzig and Stuttgart have faced each other on six occasions in the Bundesliga. Yet, Stuttgart have failed to beat Leipzig.
Leipzig have claimed five wins over Stuttgart in the Bundesliga, with the other match ending in a goalless draw.
Stuttgart have only managed to score one goal in six games against Leipzig, meaning Leipzig have kept five clean sheets.
Team news: Leipzig will be without injured duo Marcelo Saracchi and Benjamin Henrichs on Friday. Striker Alexander Sorloth could also miss out through illness.
Stuttgart, on the other hand, could be without as many as eight first-team players, with long-term absentees Lilian Egloff and Silas Katompa Mvumpa certain to miss out.
Although Stuttgart have started the season in impressive fashion, it is difficult to ignore their dreadful record against Leipzig in the Bundesliga.
With that in mind, Forebet predicts that Leipzig will keep another clean sheet on Friday, scoring over 1.5 goals in the process.