RB Leipzig vs Werder Bremen preview: Meeting up with an old friend | OneFootball

RB Leipzig

RB Leipzig seem to be flying under the radar, but they won’t mind that all as long as they keep playing this well.

They went through a summer of change. They sold a number of key players, including their attacking core of Xavi Simons, Benjamin Šeško, and Loïs Openda. The Red Bulls also brought in a new manager, acquiring the recently fired Werder Bremen head coach Ole Werner.

As a result, there were some doubts about the team this season. Leipzig had a bunch of newer players who suddenly had a lot more responsibility, and their manager hadn’t proven himself with a team that had high standards in terms of finishing in the upper reaches of the Bundesliga standings.

Those doubts have all but vanished. Die Roten Bullen go into this weekend in 2nd, and they’re only six points behind a superhuman Bayern Munich outfit. They’re getting in done on both sides of the pitch, possessing one of the strongest attacks and defenses in the league.

The new leading man is Romulo Cruz, a 23-year-old they signed in the summer. It’s an especially impressive move considering they got him from a lesser-known outfit, Göztepe in the Turkish league. The Brazilian has four goals to his name already, and he’s added three assists to that tally. Others have stepped up too, like Christoph Baumgartner and teenager Forzan Assan Ouedraogo.

Ole Werner has quickly implemented his tactical set up and beliefs onto this team, and they’ve grasped everything very well. Leipzig are young, energetic, and they’re willing and able to run teams off the pitch. They’re also benefitted from the fact that they’re not in Europe this campaign, so they have no midweek contests to distract them or force them into rotating the lineup.

This will be a special day for Werner. He took over Bremen when they were in the 2. Bundesliga, and he not only got them promoted, he turned them into a staple of the first-division once again. He came so close to European qualification on two occasions. While his split was pretty peaceful, the German will still want to stick it to his former employers.

While their most recent game was disappointing, a 3-1 loss away to Hoffenheim, RasenBallsport will still be confident in picking up three points in this contest.

Team news

Leipzig will be without Benjamin Henrichs for a little while longer, while El Chadaille Bitshiabu is unavailable as well. Rômulo is a doubt. 

Predicted lineups

Gulacsi, Baku, Orban, Klostermann, Raum, Ouedraogo, Seiwald, Baumgartner, Diomande, Cruz, Nusa

Werder Bremen

Things haven't been pretty for Werder Bremen, but they've been effective.

Currently in the midst of a five-game unbeaten run, Bremen hasn’t lost a game since the end of September. They’ve also won every home game in this time, only conceding a single goal in the process. This has put them in 8th following the international break.

Usually when teams are getting results like this, they’re playing at a very high level. That’s not quite what’s happening with Werder. Their performances haven’t been that great, especially going forward.

The players are still getting used to new manager Horst Steffen’s system, and there are clear growing pains. There are moments where some of the Green-Whites aren’t in the right position, and they’re not able to pick out a teammate with a precise pass. They go through extended spells of not creating anything.

Things are better defensively, but Bremen still need to figure out what to do at left-back. Marco Friedl had to cover, but actual fullback Issac Schmidt is ready to return. However, you can’t bench Friedl due to him being captain, and you can’t just slot him back into centerback when Karim Coulibaly and Amos Pieper are playing so well.

This weekend will be a big chance for Die Werderaner to make a statement. They haven't played a top-tier team in a while, and when they had that level of opposition at the beginning of the campaign, they really struggled. If they continue to play at the level they have been recently, then they will be in trouble.

Then again, the more time they have together, and the more time the likes of Victor Boniface and Samuel Mbangula share out on the pitch, the better Werder are going to look. This could be the first real statement win of the season.

Team news

Bremen are still missing fullbacks Mitchell Weiser, Felix Agu, Olivier Deman and Maximilian Wöber, while there’s some concern surrounding winger Samuel Mbangula.

Predicted lineups

Backhaus, Sugawara, Pieper, Freidl, Schmidt, Lynen, Stage, Mbangula, Schmid, Puertas, Boniface