"Happy to be the favourites" - Werner ahead of #RBLFCM | OneFootball

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RB Leipzig

·1 December 2025

"Happy to be the favourites" - Werner ahead of #RBLFCM

Article image:"Happy to be the favourites" - Werner ahead of #RBLFCM

RB Leipzig are seeking to reach the quarter-finals of the DFB-Pokal when they take on 1. FC Magdeburg on Tuesday night (21:00 CET). 

Ahead of the match, head coach Ole Werner gave an update on the squad and discussed the approach for the Bulls' round of 16 clash. 

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Latest team news:

  1. Ridle Baku (ankle) and Timo Werner (muscular problems) will not be available for selection on Tuesday.  
  2. Rômulo (tendon irritation), Assan Ouédraogo (knee tendon injury), Benny Henrichs (rehab after Achilles tendon tear), Viggo Gebel (ACL tear in right knee), El Chadaillie Bitshiabu (muscular injury) and Kevin Kampl (personal reasons) all remain unavailable.

Zum Personal-Update

Ole Werner on the opponent

  1. "Magdeburg have been known for playing a certain brand of football for several years now. They have several technically gifted players on the pitch and want to have the ball. Despite this not being an easy season for them, they haven't lost their style of play. We're prepared to come up against a side that knows how to upset a top-tier opponent. For us, it's about defending well, maintaining the same level of physicality we've seen over the past weeks and being clinical with our chances. We're happy to take up the role as the favourites and want to play our game and build on the things that we've been working on this season." 
Article image:"Happy to be the favourites" - Werner ahead of #RBLFCM

Potential rotation

  1. "Another double game week means that we will once again need fresh energy, as we're up against a team that have improved, who will demand a lot of us and who want to play good football. For us, it's about putting in another top performance. Fresh legs could help us in a couple of positions. Our team are all performing at a similar level. Maarten Vandevoordt will start in goal. He handles the situation well. As a goalkeeper, you don't get many opportunities to showcase yourself. He's doing well in training and is matching what we've come to expect from him. He's a very reliable back-up." 

Preparing for penalties

  1. "We haven't practiced taking penalties, but we're prepared for who might step up for our opponents. I have to say that I've won several penalty shoot-outs as a head coach and have lost just one, and that was the one where we practiced penalties beforehand. I'm not superstitious, but it's a situation that you just can't replicate." 
Article image:"Happy to be the favourites" - Werner ahead of #RBLFCM

Ole and his coaching staff

Responsibilities within the team:

  1. "At the end of the day, I make the final decisions, but I discuss nearly all these decisions with my coaching staff. There are special tasks that we've divided up, for example, Tom Cichon is focused on opposition analysis, which includes live scouting and so he'll go watch our upcoming opponents play in person.Patrick Kohlmann is focused on individual player analysis and prepares our players for who they'll come up against on an individual level with the help of video footage. Jan Zimmermann is responsible for leading our set-piece sessions, but we always meet as a group to discuss all these areas together."  

Ole's advice for aspiring head coaches:

  1. "If I had one piece of advice to give, it would be this: Do it for the team and not for yourself. I've seen it many times before where coaches are more focused on their own career progressionI think your career progression is made easier when you try to be there for the group, as that's when you also benefit from receiving something back from the group." 

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