RBL set to face familiar faces in friendly against Leeds United | OneFootball

Following the end of their training camp in Austria, RB Leipzig face the first real test of pre-season. The Red Bulls take on Premier League club Leeds United in England on Saturday at 15:00 CEST.

RBL have faced lower-tier opposition in each of their three friendlies so far, winning all three. Leeds will now provide their first opponents from one of Europe’s top leagues this summer.

Impressive win over Liverpool

Last season’s 14th-placed Premier League side recently completed a pre-season tour of the USA. After a narrow 3-2 defeat to Championship side Wrexham, they followed that up with a friendly win over fellow Premier League side Sunderland. Leeds beat Lutsharel Geertruida's former club 1-0.

Their standout result of pre-season so far came last weekend. In front of almost 50,000 fans at Soldier Field in Chicago, Leeds came from 2-0 down to beat Liverpool 4-2. Centre-forward Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored twice.

Reunion with Ampadu

Leeds United also have a German head coach in their dugout in Daniel Farke. His previous clubs include Borussia Dortmund II and Borussia Mönchengladbach, while he also spent four years in England with Norwich City between 2017 and 2021.

Farke has been Leeds head coach since 2023. After two seasons in the Championship, he guided the club back to the Premier League in the summer of 2025. They then secured their top-flight status in their first season back.

Farke isn’t the only familiar name at Saturday’s opponents. Former Leipzig player Ethan Ampadu is also part of the squad. He spent the 2019/20 season on loan with the Red Bulls, making seven competitive appearances for RBL.

Plenty of familiar faces from the Bundesliga faces

There are plenty more names in the Leeds squad that Bundesliga followers will recognise, including former Bundesliga players Sebastiaan Bornauw (Köln, Wolfsburg), Jaka Bijol (Hannover), Anton Stach (Fürth, Mainz, Hoffenheim), Ilia Gruev (Bremen), Ao Tanaka (Düsseldorf), Brenden Aaronson (Union) and Lukas Nmecha (Wolfsburg).

Both Leeds United and the Red Bulls begin their competitive campaigns in two weeks’ time. Farke’s side start the new Premier League season away to Nottingham Forest on 22nd August, while RBL travel to Eintracht Trier in the DFB-Pokal on the same day.

You can watch Saturday’s test against Leeds United live on our YouTube channel.

Discover more

Fixtures Red Bull Arena Men's first team Tickets Fan Zone