RB Leipzig host SC Freiburg with the hope of keeping the pressure on the top two and mounting a serious title challenge as the Bundesliga gets back underway.
The short history of this fixture in the top division has seen the home side victorious on every occasion with both sides winning their three games at home against each other.
With Leipzig pushing to reach the summit of the league table again, and Freiburg with an outside chance of reaching Europe, it is sure to be a highly contested game at the Red Bull Arena.
Two teams out of form?
It could be said that the suspension of the league came at a good to time for the hosts who had only two of their last seven league games leading up to the break.
Despite this, they managed to send a message of intent by dumping Tottenham Hotspur out of the Champions League before the break.
Prolific on the counter-attack, Julian Nagelsmann’s side scored at least one goal in the first 18 games but have gone scoreless in three of their last seven.
Timo Werner, who has scored 21 and set up another seven goals this season, will be hoping to reignite that winning feeling in the league with his team still only five points off the top.
Freiburg are not exactly a team inform themselves, with just three wins in 2020, and top scorer Nils Peterson goal-less in seven since overtaking Germany manager Joachim Löw as Freiburg’s all-time leading goal scorer.
One thing Freiburg have been proficient at is set pieces, scoring 10 of their last 14 goals from dead-ball situations, so Peterson will be hoping to use his height to get back to scoring ways.
Rumour mill in full flow at Leipzig
Leipzig will be without their highly-rated young centre back Dayot Upamecano who is suspended, and whether he and what seems like a catalogue of the club’s young talent will be a part of their plans for next season remains to be seen.
Amongst those linked away is prolific goal-scorer Werner, who after scoring in his team’s 1-0 first leg Champions League victory over Tottenham back in February, said he was “proud” to be linked with a team like Liverpool.
.@TimoWerner: – Liverpool are the best team in the world at the moment, and when you're linked with that team, it makes me very proud.
— Viaplay Fotball (@ViaplayFotball) February 19, 2020
(@JanAageFjortoft) pic.twitter.com/KE0Fy4sm0F
Midfield mercurial Marcel Sabitzer has also been linked away from the Red Bull Arena, with both North London clubs in hot pursuit of the Austrian according to the Mirror. The trio of Werner, Sabitzer and Christopher Nkunku has been unstoppable this season, with 57 goal contributions (goals and assists) between them.
How much form will matter with such a long break from action remains to be seen, but Leipzig can’t afford to slip up if they are serious about preventing Bayern Munich from winning their eighth Bundesliga title in a row and 30th in total.
Predicted line-ups
Leipzig (3-4-2-1): Gulacsi - Mukiele, Klostermann, Halstenberg - Adams, Sabitzer, Laimer, Angelino - Nkunku, Werner - Schick
Freiburg (3-4-3): Schwolow - Gulde, Koch, Heintz - Schmid, Haberer, Höfler, Günter (c) - Waldschmidt, Petersen, Höler