Bayern Munich are running away with the Bundesliga title this season but there is plenty of drama taking place below them in the league table.
RB Leipzig are aiming to finish as the ‘best of the rest’ this season and start the weekend in third place in the league. They are level on points with second place Bayer Leverkusen but only 2 points clear of sixth place Eintracht Frankfurt, so there is all to play for at the top.
This Friday, RB Leipzig host Augsburg, who are enjoying a decent season and come into this match sitting seventh in the Bundesliga. They are 4 points behind RB Leipzig and a win could see them move up to fifth place.
RB Leipzig come into this match having lost one of their four Bundesliga games following the winter break. The break came at the right time for Ralph Hasenhuttl as his team went five competitive games without a win throughout December.
Last weekend, RB Leipzig picked up a good 1-0 win at Borussia Monchengladbach but its their home form which has kept them in contention at the top of the table. Trends show RB Leipzig have lost only two of their last fourteen home matches in all competitions.
They have tasted defeat in only two of their last fifteen home Bundesliga game and have scored 2 more goals in eleven of those matches.
Augsburg come into this match on the back of an excellent 3-0 win over Eintracht Frankfurt last weekend. This result allowed them to close the gap on their opponents to just 2 points ahead of this game.
While Augsburg have been very good at home in recent matches, they have been struggling on the road this season.
Trends show Augsburg have won only three of their last seventeen away matches in all competitions. That’s a run which stretches back into last season and they are a team who certainly prefer to play in-front of their own fans.
However, despite a poor recent record in away league games, they have lost four of their ten away Bundesliga matches this season and there are many teams with a worse away record than that in the league.
Augsburg have conceded in each of their last five away Bundesliga games, at an average of 2 goals per game.
Looking ahead to the team news and BR Leipzig will be hoping Emil Forsberg and Marcel Halstenberg are fit enough to return to the team but may miss out once more. Otherwise, the hosts will be at full strength.
Augsburg will travel without Alfred Finnbogasson and Jeffrey Gouweleeuw who are both injured. Daniel Opare has been granted special leave and will not be involved but Rani Khedira is back from suspension.
This has the makings of a very competitive match but the home advantage just moves things into RB Leipzig’s favour and a couple more goals should be enough to seal the win for the hosts.