1 RB Leipzig vs 0 VfL Bochum 1848
Leipzig to begin Bundesliga campaign against Bochum.
Kicking off their Bundesliga campaign at the Red Bull Arena, RB Leipzig, featuring fresh faces and a new strategy under Marco Rose, take on VfL Bochum, who are eager to avoid last season's relegation woes, in what's sure to be an action-packed Saturday clash.
RB Leipzig
After finishing in 4th place last term, Leipzig will begin their Bundesliga campaign with Saturday’s clash against Bochum.
This season, they will be looking like a different side after key departures. Dani Olmo, who had a brilliant outing at the recently concluded European Championship, made the switch to Barcelona after €55 million changed hands. While Angeliño left for a paltry sum of €5 million, Antonio Nusa joined the club for €21 million. Goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt arrived after Leipzig paid the sum of €10 million.
Marco Rose, who is in his third season with the club, steered Leipzig to a 4-1 win last weekend over Essen in the first round of the DFB Pokal thanks to goals from Nusa and Xavi Simons, who also had a great outing at Euro 2024, having returned to Leipzig on loan. An opening win would be complementary to last weekend’s victory, although it would be worth noting that Leipzig have won only half of their last eight opening Bundesliga games.
However, with nine victories in 11 competitive games against Bochum, finding a win on Saturday shouldn’t pose too much of a problem for the Red Bulls. ‘We gained some insight with the Pokal match, but we don't really know what to expect yet. I know Peter Zeidler from Salzburg,’ Marco Rose said ahead of Saturday’s clash. ‘We expect a wild game in which we will have little time to refocus and react. There will be a lot of pressing and counter-pressing situations. We will still try to play out our game plan,’ he added.
Benjamin Šeško and Loïs Openda are expected to keep their places in attack from last weekend’s 4-4-2.
VfL Bochum 1848
Unlike Leipzig, VfL Bochum picked up a defeat in their first-round DFB-Pokal clash, which ended 0-1 to SSV Jahn Regensburg. Bochum escaped relegation last season after a 16th-place finish, having made a comeback from a 3-0 defeat in the first leg of their relegation play-off clash against Fortuna Düsseldorf.
This weekend, they will be looking to start off on a fine note as they look to avoid the relegation scrap entirely. Bochum are, however, winless in their last nine Bundesliga opening games (0W, 3D, 6L).
Meanwhile, Peter Zeidler will be looking to make a lasting impression on his Bundesliga managerial debut when he leads his side out this weekend. A 4-1-2-1-2 formation with Moritz Broschinski and Philipp Hofmann in attack is expected.
Ivan Ordets will play no part in Bochum’s opening game following a shoulder injury.
Team form
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Team Comparison
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