RB Leipzig vs. Freiburg preview: Hosts looking to maintain unbeaten record

RB Leipzig will look to maintain their unbeaten start to the Bundesliga season when they welcome Freiburg to the Red Bull Arena on Saturday.

RB Leipzig

Second-placed Leipzig head into the weekend level on 17 points with leaders Bayern Munich after winning five and drawing two of their seven league matches this season. Die Rotten Bullen kicked off their Bundesliga campaign with back-to-back victories, before they played out consecutive goalless draws against Union Berlin and St. Pauli.

Leipzig have since returned to winning ways to record three consecutive league wins without conceding, including a 2-0 away victory over Mainz last weekend. Xavi Simons and Willi Orban both got on the scoresheet to fire Leipzig to their third away win of the Bundesliga season. 

Unfortunately for Leipzig, they have been unable to carry their domestic form into their Champions League campaign. Marco Rose’s side fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat in Wednesday’s home meeting with Liverpool, leaving them without a point after their first three matches of the league phase.

Die Roten Bullen will now turn their focus back to league action as they look to preserve their unbeaten record and clinch a sixth consecutive clean sheet in the top flight.  The hosts will certainly fancy their chances of claiming all three points after winning each of their last four Bundesliga matches against Freiburg.

Team News

Xavi is set for a spell on the sidelines after he sustained an ankle injury in the midweek defeat to Liverpool. The hosts are also without the services of David Raum, Nicolas Seiwald, Assan Ouédraogo and Xaver Schlager. Meanwhile, Lukas Klostermann is a doubt due to illness.

Freiburg

Freiburg are sitting just points behind Leipzig in third position after winning five and losing two of their seven league matches. Julian Schuster’s side have won four of their last five league games, including their last two outings against Werder Bremen and Augsburg. They claimed a narrow 1-0 victory at the Weserstadion, before they recorded a 3-1 home win over Augsburg thanks to goals from Vincenzo Grifo, Philipp Lienhart and Christian Günter.

They will now turn their focus to Saturday’s fixture, where they will attempt to record three consecutive league wins for the first time since December 2023. However, that may be easier said than done as Freiburg have never won a competitive away game against Leipzig. The Breisgau-Brasilianer have drawn three and lost six of their previous nine away meetings with die Roten Bullen. The visitors have also lost both of their last two head-to-head away games by a 3-1 scoreline.

Team News

The visitors are unable to call upon Manuel Gulde, Kenneth Schmidt, Merlin Röhl and Daniel-Kofi Kyereh.