RB Leipzig vs. Köln preview: Visitors looking to extend unbeaten start

Köln will be looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the season when they travel to the Red Bull Arena for Saturday’s meeting with RB Leipzig.

RB Leipzig 

Leipzig have responded positively to losing 6-0 to Bayern Munich on the opening day of the season. Ole Werner oversaw his first win as Leipzig boss in a home clash against Heidenheim, before his side picked up three more points in last Saturday’s away meeting with Mainz. Johan Bakayoko’s first goal for the club proved enough to seal a second consecutive victory, leaving Leipzig in seventh position ahead of matchday four.

Die Roten Bullen should fancy their chances of taking something from Saturday’s fixture, having avoided defeat in all of their previous 36 Bundesliga games against newly-promoted clubs (W31, D5). They also boast an impressive record against Köln, with their 14 top-flight meetings producing seven wins, five draws and just two defeats. 

Leipzig will certainly have fond memories of the last two times they faced Köln in the 2023-24 campaign, where they followed a dominant 6-0 home win with a commanding 5-1 victory in the away fixture. 

Team News

The hosts are unable to call upon Xaver Schlager, Benjamin Hendrichs, Amadou Haidara, Antonio Nusa and Lukas Klostermann. They are also without former Köln full-back Max Finkgräfe, who picked up a knee injury in training during the week. 

Predicted lineup: Gulácsi; Baku, Orbán, Castello, Raum; Banuzi, Seiwald, Baumgartner; Bakayoko, Diomande, Rômulo

Köln

After winning the 2.Bundesliga title last term, Köln will be pleased with the start they have made on their top-flight return. Die Geißböcke kicked off the campaign with a narrow 1-0 away win over Mainz, before they produced a free-scoring display to clinch a comfortable 4-1 home victory against Freiburg. 

Lukas Kwasniok’s side were unable to make it three consecutive wins in last Saturday’s clash with Wolfsburg, but they showed great character to maintain their unbeaten start to the season. Ísak Bergmann Jóhannesson netted a 91st-minute leveller to restore parity at 2-2 goals apiece, only for Wolfsburg’s Maximilian Arnold to score what seemed destined to be the winning goal. However, there proved to be one final twist in the 14th minute of stoppage time, when Jakub Kamiński netted a dramatic equaliser against his parent club to rescue a 3-3 draw. 

Having taken seven points from their first three games, Köln have made their best start to a Bundesliga season since 2016-17. Lukas Kwasniok will now look to guide Köln to their first victory over RB Leipzig since a 2-1 home win in April 2021, and their first head-to-head away win since February 2018. 

Team News

The visitors will have to cope without the services of Luca Kilian and Rav van den Berg due to knee and shoulder issues respectively. 

Predicted lineup: Schwäbe; Sebulonsen, Schmied, Hübers, Lund; Jóhannesson, Martel, Krauß; Thielmann, Bülter, Kaminski