Can die Roten Bullen get off the mark?

After beginning the new Bundesliga campaign with a defeat, RB Leipzig will look to claim their first points of the season when they play host to Stuttgart on Friday.

RB Leipzig

After thrashing Bayern Munich 3-0 to win their first-ever DFL-Supercup, Leipzig entered the opening weekend of the Bundesliga season in a positive mood. However, their confidence was dented by Xabi Alonso’s Bayer Leverkusen side, who managed to get the better of Marco Rose’s charges in a five-goal thriller. While Leipzig found the net through Dani Olmo and summer signing Loïs Openda, goals from Jeremie Frimpong, Jonathan Tah and Florian Wirtz condemned die Roten Bullen to a 3-2 away defeat.

Leipzig will now return home to the Red Bull Arena, where they picked up 42 points during the 2022-23 season to finish the campaign with the second-best home record in the top flight. Their hopes of claiming maximum points on Friday will be boosted by their impressive head-to-head record, having won all five of their previous home meetings with Stuttgart, scoring 11 goals and conceding just once.

Team News

El Chadaille Bitshiabu and Amadou Haidara are ruled out with knee and calf problems respectively. Goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi remains a long-term absentee for the hosts, while Caden Clark is a doubt for Friday’s contest.

Stuttgart

Fresh from beating fourth-tier Balingen 4-0 in the first round of the DFB-Pokal, Stuttgart produced a dominant display to claim another comfortable victory in Saturday’s league opener against Bochum.

Serhou Guirassy and Silas both netted braces in a commanding 5-0 victory where former Borussia Dortmund defender Dan-Axel Zagadou registered his first Stuttgart goal. After being involved in relegation battles in the last two seasons, Stuttgart will hope their opening-day result lays the foundation for a successful campaign.

Having failed to beat Leipzig in 10 competitive meetings, Stuttgart will be targeting their first-ever win over die Roten Bullen on Friday. Claiming all three points would certainly represent a statement of intent for a Stuttgart side that had to wait until April to clinch their first away league victory of the 2022-23 season.

Team News

Deniz Undav, Josha Vagnoman, Nikolas Nartey and Fabian Bredlow are all sidelined for the visitors, while Thomas Kastanaras is also unlikely to feature due to an injury issue.

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