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Leipzig logo
Bundesliga | Gameweek 33
May 16, 2021 at 7.30pm UK
Red Bull Arena
Wolfsburg
RB Leipzig
2 - 2
Wolfsburg
Kluivert (51'), Sabitzer (78' pen.)
Henrichs (20'), Konate (36'), Sabitzer (45')
FT(HT: 0-2)
Philipp (12', 45+1')
Mbabu (52'), Arnold (60'), Baku (86')

Preview: RB Leipzig vs. Wolfsburg - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Sunday's Bundesliga clash between RB Leipzig and Wolfsburg, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

RB Leipzig take on Wolfsburg in the Bundesliga on Sunday, with the visitors looking to cement their position in the Champions League qualification places.

The home team, meanwhile, have little to play for after their 3-2 defeat to Borussia Dortmund last weekend meant that Bayern Munich wrapped up a ninth successive league title.


Match preview

RB Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann pictured on January 23, 2021© Reuters

Despite Leipzig impressively coming back from two goals down against Dortmund last weekend, Jadon Sancho's late winner ensured that Bayern became champions of Germany for the ninth consecutive campaign.

With Dortmund chasing a Champions League qualification position, Sancho and Marco Reus really turned on the style in the first hour of the encounter, each scoring to provide BVB with a two-goal cushion before Lukas Klostermann and Dani Olmo levelled the proceedings in the second half.

However, after a dramatic 87th-minute winner during their league meeting, Sancho was the main thorn in Leipzig's side once again in midweek, as Dortmund cruised to a 4-1 win in the DFB-Pokal final.

Julian Nagelsmann was desperately hoping to win his first trophy as a manager ahead of his summer switch to Bayern, as well as securing Leipzig's first major trophy in the club's history, but for the second time in the space of six days his side had very few answers to Dortmund's breathtaking attacking firepower as Sancho and Erling Braut Haaland both scored braces.

The 33-year-old is likely to have concerns of fatigue and a lack of motivation against a Wolfsburg side equally capable of punishing his side on their day. Defeat in his last home game in charge of the club would mean that Leipzig would have to wait until the final day of the season to wrap up second place in the table.

Wolfsburg coach Oliver Glasner pictured on February 14, 2021© Reuters

Wolfsburg, meanwhile, remained in third place after an impressive 3-0 win against Union Berlin last time out, with Josip Brekalo scoring his first ever Bundesliga hat-trick.

The Croatian forward sent the Wolves into a 12th-minute lead with a viciously whipped effort from outside of the area, before securing a crucial win for his side with two scrappier second-half efforts.

Oliver Glasner's side can realistically secure Champions League football for the first time since reaching the quarter-final in the 2015-16 season by beating Leipzig on Sunday, as it would keep them at worst three points ahead of Eintracht Frankfurt with a far superior goal difference heading into the final day.

As such, the 46-year-old will be hoping that his forthcoming opponents are fatigued after Thursday night's events in Berlin and unmotivated given that their slim title hopes have been ended, especially ahead of a potentially tricky last match against in-form Mainz 05.

RB Leipzig Bundesliga form:
  • L
  • W
  • D
  • L
  • W
  • L

RB Leipzig form (all competitions):
  • D
  • L
  • W
  • W
  • L
  • L

Wolfsburg Bundesliga form:
  • W
  • L
  • L
  • W
  • L
  • W



Team News

Wolfsburg's Renato Steffen celebrates scoring their first goal with teammates against Union Berlin on January 9, 2021© Reuters

Nagelsmann dropped Angelino for Thursday's DFB-Pokal final against Dortmund due to disciplinary reasons, with the left-back seemingly unlikely to play for Nagelsmann again ahead of the 33-year-old's summer switch to the Bayern dugout.

Lazar Samardzic and Tyler Adams are unlikely to recover from knee and back injuries respectively in time to face Wolfsburg, meanwhile, but Dominik Szoboszlai will be hoping to make his debut having returned to training.

The Hungarian has not played for Leipzig since signing from Red Bull Salzburg in January due to a recurring groin injury.

Christopher Nkunku shook off a back issue to feature from the bench in the DFB-Pokal final and could start on Sunday, with Nagelsmann likely to make several changes to avoid any burnout.

Wolfsburg, meanwhile, have confirmed that Renato Steffen will not feature again this season due to a ligament injury, with Bartosz Bialek also ruled out for several months after sustaining an ACL injury.

Glasner will hope that Kevin Mbabu can recover from a gastrointestinal problem to start at right-back, with Ridle Baku set to deputise out of position if not.

Yannick Gerhardt would likely come into the side should Mbabu be ruled out, with Glasner having to reshuffle his pack as a result.

RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:
Gulacsi; Orban, Upamecano, Konate; Henrichs, Laimer, Sabitzer, Haidara; Nkunku, Forsberg; Poulsen

Wolfsburg possible starting lineup:
Casteels; Baku, Lacroix, Brooks, Otavio; Schlager, Arnold; Gerhardt, Philipp, Brekalo; Weghorst


SM words green background

We say: RB Leipzig 1-2 Wolfsburg

Wolfsburg will be fresher and more motivated to win this match, and we can envisage them doing so to essentially confirm their place in next season's Champions League.

Leipzig will certainly be no pushovers, though, despite their recent disappointments of missing out on both the Bundesliga and DFB-Pokal titles.



Top tip

Our expert tipster partners at Sporita.com are predicting a double chance bet on a home win or an away win in this match. Click here to find out what else they are predicting for this game and for more of their tried-and-tested football tips.Home/Away:data



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Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a RB Leipzig win with a probability of 47.73%. A win for Wolfsburg had a probability of 27.86% and a draw had a probability of 24.4%.

The most likely scoreline for a RB Leipzig win was 1-0 with a probability of 9.62%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-1 (9.44%) and 2-0 (7.89%). The likeliest Wolfsburg win was 0-1 (7.02%), while for a drawn scoreline it was 1-1 (11.5%). The actual scoreline of 2-2 was predicted with a 5.6% likelihood.


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Game History

How you voted: RB Leipzig vs Wolfsburg

RB Leipzig
38.8%
Draw
20.9%
Wolfsburg
40.3%
67
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Bayer LeverkusenB. Leverkusen26224066184870
2Bayern MunichBayern26193478314760
3Stuttgart26182660312956
4Borussia DortmundDortmund26148453322150
5RB Leipzig26154760322849
6Eintracht FrankfurtFrankfurt26101064235740
7Augsburg269894342135
8Hoffenheim2696114450-633
9Freiburg2696113648-1233
10Werder Bremen2686123541-630
11Heidenheim2678113544-929
12Borussia MonchengladbachBorussia M'bach26610104650-428
13Union BerlinUnion Berlin2684142542-1728
14Wolfsburg2667133144-1325
15VfL BochumVfL Bochum26510113054-2425
16Mainz 05Mainz26310132246-2419
17FC Koln2639142047-2718
18SV Darmstadt 98Darmstadt2627172665-3913

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