The Bundesliga is back: Why RBL can make a winning start

In partnership with

RB Leipzig

·26 August 2026

The Bundesliga is back: Why RBL can make a winning start

Our cup win has whetted the appetite. Now the Bundesliga is back at the Red Bull Arena!

The Red Bulls welcome Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday (15:30 CEST) for our first league game of the 2026/27 season. Seven weeks of pre-season are behind us and we’ve successfully negotiated our first competitive game – now it’s finally time to start playing for Bundesliga points again.

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“I’m really looking forward to our first league game at home in front of our fans. After the difficult start we had in Munich last season, we want to get our Bundesliga campaign off to a positive start this time,” said David Raum earlier this week.

And there are plenty of reasons to be confident heading into the game.

Taking cup momentum back home

The Red Bulls came away from Trier with six goals, six different scorers and a new RBL cup record. The win gave them plenty of confidence and showed that the team are starting to gel.

“Our play is becoming more and more fluid. You could see that today,” was Raumi’s assessment of the performance.

Gladbach will also arrive in Leipzig in good spirits, however. The Foals began their cup campaign with a 5-0 win away to fifth-tier Schott Mainz. Hugo Bolin scored twice before youngster Wael Mohya rounded off the scoring. Eugen Polanski’s side had already won all seven of their pre-season friendlies.

“The Bundesliga will obviously be a completely different challenge. But I feel that we’re well prepared for it,” said the Foals boss ahead of Saturday’s meeting.

Strong home record against the Foals

Eugen Polanski need only look back at Gladbach’s last visit to the Red Bull Arena. Our 1-0 win in April proved to be an important step on the road back to the Champions League. We had 13 shots to Gladbach’s three and kept pushing until we got the home win we deserved.

We now have the chance to make it six successive Bundesliga home wins across the two seasons. No other Bundesliga side currently boasts a run of five consecutive victories on home soil. Our record against Gladbach is even more encouraging: we’re unbeaten in all ten of our Bundesliga home games against the Foals, winning six and drawing four.

Our record on matchday 1 also makes for good reading: every time RB Leipzig have started a Bundesliga season at home, we’ve taken all three points!

Rocco faces familiar faces

Micho’s analysts will leave no stone unturned in their preparations for Saturday’s opponents, but Rocco Reitz may also be able to offer one or two useful insights. The former Gladbach midfielder knows the Foals inside out.

Rocco played alongside most the members of Eugen Polanski’s current squad, including Hugo Bolin and Wael Mohya, who both scored in the 5-0 cup win over Schott Mainz. Gladbach Head of Sports Rouven Schröder has been particularly impressed by 23-year-old Bolin: “What Hugo can do in tight spaces is really impressive. He had an excellent pre-season, he’s quick and agile and he’s fully earned his place in the starting XI.”

17-year-old Mohya is also regarded as one of Gladbach’s brightest young talents. The Germany U18 international already caught the eye last season.

Micho’s first home game

It will also be a special afternoon for Micho, who will take charge of RBL at the Red Bull Arena for the first time. The Argentine got his first taste of our home ground at the VIP Kick-off and was hugely impressed: “It’s my first time in this beautiful stadium. The stands and the whole place are just brilliant.”

We saw what this stadium and the team can produce together in our last meeting with Gladbach. Now Micho will experience that atmosphere from the touchline for the first time – and hopefully with the same outcome for us!