Bundesliga action will take a break this midweek to pave way for the DFB-Pokal round of 16 battles in Germany as RB Leipzig are set to welcome Hoffenheim to Red Bull Arena with Marco Rose’s men also right back in the title race this season.
Rose's side have been excellent since action resumed in Germany. The club restarted things with a 1-1 draw at home against the league leaders Bayern Munich, as Marcel Halstenberg scored a second half equaliser.
Enge Kiste an der Tabellenspitze 😳#MondayMotivation 💪 #Bundesliga pic.twitter.com/PSQbiXna2U— RB Leipzig (@RBLeipzig) January 30, 2023
Enge Kiste an der Tabellenspitze 😳#MondayMotivation 💪 #Bundesliga pic.twitter.com/PSQbiXna2U
Leipzig then headed on the road to meet with last-placed Schalke. Andre Silva scored a first half brace that day for Leipzig, as Timo Werner and Benjamin Henrichs also scored a goal each in a stunning 6-1 win.
Dani Olmo and Yussuf Poulsen scored goals in the final 10 minutes of the game in what was Rose's biggest win at his new club. Leipzig also had 14 shots on target that day.
Last time out, Dominik Szobszlai was the hero for Leipzig, as he scored a goal in each half to secure all three points in a 2-1 home win over Stuttgart. It also put the club up into third and narrowly behind Union Berlin in the Bundesliga.
In fact, they sit just one point behind Union in second and only behind Bayern in first by two points.
Ultimately, if form can continue and if Bayern's collapse gets worse, Leipzig could be right in there for the DFB-Pokal and Bundesliga titles.
As for Hoffenheim, they are winless since action started up again in Germany. André Breitenreiter has lost 3-1 to Union Berlin, drawn 2-2 with Stuttgart and lost 4-1 to Borussia Monchengladbach in his past few games in the Bundesliga.
It keeps the club down in 13th and with only five wins on the board and nine defeats too. Worse yet, only Werder Bremen, Augsburg and Stuttgart outside of the relegation zone have conceded more, while only those two sides have netted fewer goals as well.
Hoffenheim are sitting with just a three-point gap on 16th-placed VfL Bochum.
There should only be one winner in this game given the form of the two sides since the World Cup. Leipzig have managed to avoid defeat in all three games and only dropped points to the champions.
Hoffenheim, however, have a terrible record away from home and are unlikely to get their first win of the season here.
Forebet predicts a win for Leipzig and for the game to see under 2.5 goals.