RB Leipzig will be expected to return to winning ways in the Bundesliga when they welcome Augsburg to the Red Bull Arena on Sunday.
The hosts were knocked out of the Europa League semi-finals by Rangers on Thursday evening, but must now refocus on their domestic top-four goals, whilst the visitors were heavily beaten last time out to leave their complete survival unconfirmed for the time being.
Match preview
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Not too many would have seen Leipzig's exit at the hands of the Scottish champions coming on Thursday, but an excellent display from the hosts at Ibrox was not matched by another below-par display from the Red Bull outfit.
After initially failing to react to a blistering start from Rangers in the opening stages, in which Die Roten Bullen found themselves 2-0 down, Christopher Nkunku netted his 32nd goal of the campaign to bring the tie back level on aggregate.
However, Domenico Tedesco's side were dealt a sucker punch when John Lundstram struck a late winner, to see them exit at the semi-finals stage courtesy of a 3-2 aggregate defeat.
The loss was yet another setback in Leipzig's struggles over the last couple of weeks, with a recent 15-game unbeaten run across all competitions being ended by a run of three losses in four outings, including successive defeats in the Bundesliga.
As a result, a hugely impressive fight on three fronts looks to have caught up with Leipzig, with Sunday's hosting of Augsburg being an incredible 25th game of 2022 already.
The back-to-back league defeats against Union Berlin and Borussia Monchengladbach have significantly damaged their hopes of reaching next season's Champions League too, with Sunday's hosts ending matchday 32 outside the top four courtesy of Freiburg's thrilling win over Hoffenheim.
With Freiburg due to play tough fixtures in the final two games of the campaign however, and with just one point separating the two sides still, Tedesco's men remain in with a great chance of featuring on Europe's grand stage again next season, but their alarming dip in form must be halted immediately on Sunday should they plan on doing so.
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Meanwhile, Augsburg fell to a third defeat in four games when they were comprehensively beaten by top-four hopefuls FC Koln last weekend.
After falling two goals behind in the early stages at the WWK Arena, Augsburg never fully recovered despite a more even second half, and Florian Niederlechner's goal could only help Sunday's visitors to a 4-1 defeat at the hands of the Billy Goats.
However, despite struggling in their last four outings, Markus Weinzierl's side have all but confirmed their survival in the top flight for another season, albeit largely thanks to the failures of their fellow relegation candidates.
A significant lack of points from Stuttgart and Arminia Bielefeld have helped Fuggerstadter's cause for sure, but they certainly will not mind as they look forward to another Bundesliga campaign in 2022-23.
Although survival is not mathematically secure, Augsburg boast an eight-point advantage over Bielefeld in the automatic drop zone ahead of the final two games of the Bundesliga season, whilst being on the correct side of a six-point gap above Stuttgart in the relegation playoff spot.
Weinzierl will be looking to end any doubts by picking up at least a point at the Red Bull Arena on Sunday though, but despite the difficult trip making their situation slightly more concerning, Augsburg do possess a favourable fixture on the final day, with already-relegated Greuther Furth visiting the WWK Arena next weekend.
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Team News
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Leipzig will be without young defender Mohamed Simakan for Sunday's fixture at the Red Bull Arena, with the 22-year-old serving a one-match suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card of the campaign in Monday's defeat at Gladbach.
Amadou Haidara nears a return from a knee injury, but the midfielder is not expected to feature until perhaps the final day.
After having to settle for a place on the bench on Thursday, Andre Silva should return to the Leipzig front line alongside Nkunku on Sunday, with a recall for either Emil Forsberg or Dominik Szoboszlai in place of Dani Olmo also a possibility with Tedesco likely to freshen up his side once more.
As for the visitors, left wing-back Iago is a slight doubt after limping off in last weekend's defeat with a bruised knee.
Mads Pedersen is back available however, so the Danish wide player will be in line to deputise should he be required in place of the Brazilian.
Tobias Strobl and Noah Sarenren Bazee remain unavailable for the remainder of the season though, but Weinzierl has a near full-strength side to choose from.
RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:
Gulacsi; Klostermann, Orban, Gvardiol; Mukiele, Adams, Laimer, Angelino; Forsberg; Nkunku, Silva
Augsburg possible starting lineup:
Gikiewicz; Gumny, Gouweleeuw, Oxford; Caligiuri, Maier, Dorsch, Pedersen; Hahn, Gregoritsch; Niederlechner
We say: RB Leipzig 3-1 Augsburg
Despite their setbacks and dip in form over the last couple of weeks, Leipzig should have enough in them to bounce back against an out-of-form Augsburg side here.
The hosts will be expected to cruise to a comfortable victory, but the difficulty of their task depends on the character that can be displayed to bounce back from Thursday's exit from the Europa League, as well as any lingering fitness issues.
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats, suggests the most likely outcome of this match is a RB Leipzig win with a probability of 73.79%. A draw has a probability of 16.8% and a win for Augsburg has a probability of 9.43%.
The most likely scoreline is RB Leipzig 2-0 Augsburg with a probability of 13.37% and the second most likely scoreline is RB Leipzig 1-0 Augsburg with a probability of 11.64%.
Top tip
Matthew Tranter
