"Maybe we can hurt them a little" – David Raum on Bayern challenge and containing Olise | OneFootball

LEIPZIG (Bulinews): David Raum knows it will be anything but easy, but he and RB Leipzig will be aiming to hand Bayern Munich their first Bundesliga defeat of the season when they welcome the league leaders to Red Bull Arena on Saturday.

"It will be a tough match. In my opinion, Bayern are one of the best – and maybe the best – team in the world at the moment," Raum said at a media round when asked by Bulinews.com to outline his expectations for the game.

The reverse fixture saw Leipzig humbled 6-0 in the season opener, but Raum believes Die Roten Bullen have a much stronger foundation now, with head coach Ole Werner and the club’s summer signings much more settled.

"They killed us at the start of the season, but this will be a completely different match because we have some new players and are playing in a different way compared to the start of the season," said the Leipzig captain.

"The coach has a better feeling for us and how we play, and we have a better feeling for what he wants from us. Playing at home with our fans, maybe we can hurt them a little. To be honest, it’s not easy to get points against them at the moment, but let’s see what’s possible."

Keeping Olise quiet

Operating on the left side of defence, Raum will face the challenge of containing Bayern’s Michael Olise, who has already had 19 goal involvements (nine goals, 10 assists) in just 17 Bundesliga appearances this season.

"There’s no key to stopping him. Of course, he’ll have his moments. I’ll try to block his left foot. But whatever I say, it’s not easy to stop a player like him. He’s on an amazing run. I’m looking forward to playing against him because I like to play against the best wingers in the world, and he’s absolutely one of them at the moment. I’ll try to be sharp, stay close to him and be in the duels. Maybe in the first few duels it will hurt a little bit," said Raum.

"I’ll just try to react to him because he’s a really clever player. If I do the first step, he’s going to react, and he has quick feet. So I’m going to wait for him to make the first move. Then I’ll bring my body in, my physicality. He’s not the most physical player, but very skillful, so I need to fight against him, and I need support from the front and from my centre-backs too. Then I think we can stop him together."

Sometimes attack is the best defence. With players like Yan Diomande and Antonio Nusa, Leipzig also have the firepower to hurt Bayern.

"They have a lot of players who are not easy to stop, but we also have these players. I prepare to have the ball against Bayern because then we can play and they'll have to defend," said Raum.

Not a title contender

With RB Leipzig in third place and 15 points behind Bayern Munich with a game in hand heading into the match, Raum admits he doesn't see his team as genuine title contenders.

"To be honest, no. I think Bayern are going to be champions, but that's not our main aim. We want to play in the Champions League next year, and at the moment it looks very good. We have one game in hand, so if we win this, it looks very, very good," Raum said, adding:

"We played a good first half of the season. If we keep going, I think we'll achieve our goal, and everything more is a little too much dreaming, especially after last season. But maybe we can talk about the cup. That's more realistic."

Bulinews.com will be present for Saturday's top-of-the-table clash at Red Bull Arena with kickoff at 18:30 CET.