Preview:RB Leipzig vs Hamburger SV - prediction, team news, lineups

RB Leipzig will be looking to maintain their perfect home record when they welcome Hamburger SV to the Red Bull Arena this Saturday afternoon.

Die Roten Bullen have not tasted defeat since the opening weekend of the season, while Die Rothosen have won two of their last three games as they begin to find their feet in the Bundesliga.

Match preview

Kicking off the season against Bayern Munich was always going to be a tough challenge for new RB Leipzig manager Ole Werner, though the 6-0 result certainly did not paint a fair picture of his early work.

Since that heavy defeat at the Allianz Arena, Leipzig have bounced back strong, going five matches unbeaten and winning four of them.

In fact, Werner’s men were on a four-match winning run before being held to a 1-1 draw against Borussia Dortmund just before October’s international break – a result which leaves them third in the table.

Die Roten Bullen are now looking for a return to winning ways, and they will be confident considering the club have never lost against a newly-promoted Bundesliga side – boasting a record of 32 wins and five draws from 37 such fixtures.

On top of that, Leipzig have only lost two home games this entire calendar year, falling to Mainz 05 and VfB Stuttgart towards the end of last season.

Hamburger SV, on the other hand, kicked off their return to the Bundesliga in poor fashion, failing to score in their first three games and enduring a couple of high-profile defeats – a 2-0 derby loss to St Pauli and a 5-0 thumping away at Bayern Munich.

Merlin Polzin and his men were able to shake off their disappointing start to the campaign, bouncing back with two wins and a draw in their following three matches.

Their latest outing was a hugely impressive 4-0 victory over Mainz at the Volksparkstadion – a result which dragged Die Rothosen up to ninth in the standings – one point above their arch-rivals St Pauli.

Having made a little bit of progress, Hamburg will be looking to continue the momentum train going away at the Red Bull Arena – a stadium which they last visited in the Bundesliga back in 2018.

The main priority for Polzin and his side will be to get on the scoresheet and end their three-match goal drought on the road. That may prove a lot easier said than done, considering Hamburg are winless in their last four competitive meetings with Leipzig.

RB Leipzig Bundesliga form:

L W W W W D

Hamburger SV Bundesliga form:

D L L W D W

Team News

RB Leipzig are still without Benjamin Henrichs, who continues to recover from his Achilles tendon injury, which has kept him out of action since December 2024.

Newly-signed defender Max Finkgrafe is yet to make his debut since signing from FC Koln, though this Saturday is unlikely to be his big day, as the player continues to recover from his knee problem.

Teenage defender Kosta Nedeljkovic is also expected to watch this weekend’s clash from the sidelines as he struggles with a knee injury.

Hamburg, meanwhile, will travel to the Red Bull Arena without their Arsenal loanee Fabio Vieira, who is serving the second of his two-match ban for a red card against Union Berlin.

Defender Warmed Omari is out with a knee injury until January, while midfielder Silvan Hefti continues to recover from his hip problem.

Giorgi Gocholeishvili, who represented Georgia during the international break, remains a doubt due to a head injury.

RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:

Gulacsi; Baku, Orban, Lukeba, Raum; Ouedraogo, Seiwald, Baumgartner; Bakayoko, Romulo, Nusa

Hamburger SV possible starting lineup:

Heuer Fernandes; Capaldo, Vuskovic, Elfadli; Mikelbrencis, Sambi Lokonga, Remberg, Muheim; Philippe, Konigsdorffer, Dompe

We say: RB Leipzig 2-0 Hamburger SV

The gap between these two clubs is perhaps not as wide as it was three years ago when Leipzig won 4-0 in a DFB-Pokal clash, but there is no doubt that the hosts are considerable favourites.

With a tremendous home record to their name, we are backing Leipzig to claim all three points against a side that are yet to score on their travels.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.