RB Leipzig will aim to enhance their chances of securing Champions League football when they take on lowly FC Koln at RheinEnergieStadion on Friday night.
The Red Bulls sit fifth in the Bundesliga table – one point shy of the top four – while the Billy Goats find themselves seven points inside the bottom three.
This preview contains stats, trends, analysis and predictions for Friday’s showdown. Keep reading to discover the outcome of Forebet’s AI algorithm.
Spring time smiles 😄😄#Bundesliga #KOERBL 🔜 pic.twitter.com/7wOOxey8DD— RB Leipzig English (@RBLeipzig_EN) March 13, 2024
Spring time smiles 😄😄#Bundesliga #KOERBL 🔜 pic.twitter.com/7wOOxey8DD
Let’s start by looking at the hosts, FC Koln, who played out an eventful 3-3 draw with Borussia Monchengladbach last weekend.
That draw extended Koln’s winless run to five matches, and they have managed to win just one of their previous 12 Bundesliga encounters.
In terms of the bigger picture, the Billy Goats have won only three of their 25 league games this season, recording nine draws and 13 defeats in the process.
To make matters worse for Koln, they possess the division’s worst offensive record, having scored a measly 19 goals this term (0.8 goals per game).
As for RB Leipzig, they held Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu on Wednesday, although they failed to reach the Champions League quarter-finals.
Thanks to a 2-0 victory over Darmstadt last weekend, the Red Bulls have won three of their previous four Bundesliga outings, losing one of their last six.
That said, Leipzig have struggled on the road in recent times, winning just one of their previous five Bundesliga away games while conceding 11 goals.
Still, only the top three teams have scored more goals than Leipzig’s 55 this season, with the Red Bull’s averaging 2.2 goals per game in 2023-24.
Head-to-head: In October, RB Leipzig won the reverse fixture 6-0, racking up 63% possession and 28 shots while dominating proceedings in Saxony.
As a result, the Billy Goats have failed to win any of their last five Bundesliga meetings with the Red Bulls, recording three draws and two defeats in that time.
Team news: The hosts are currently without injured trio Justin Diehl, Mark Uth and Luca Waldschmidt, while Jan Thielmann is suspended.
On the other hand, the visitors’ only injury concern is Lukas Klostermann, who has missed the previous four games due to a hip problem.
When you couple Koln’s demise with Leipzig’s rise, all the signs point towards another defeat for the Billy Goats.
Forebet predicts that RB Leipzig will score over 1.5 goals on their way to defeating FC Koln, although the hosts are expected to find the back of the net.