Bundesliga Preview: Second place on the line as Borussia Dortmund face RB Leipzig
By Ben McNicol
This weekend marks the penultimate game of the Bundesliga season and it gets no bigger than RB Leipzig v Borussia Dortmund at the Red Bull Arena in the battle for second place.
It has been a disappointing week for both Die Roten Bullen and the Black and Yellows, with both sides failing to take maximum points from games they ultimately should have won. A well below-par Borussia Dortmund were second best in every single department against relegation-threatened Mainz, while Leipzig bottled a two-goal lead at home to Fortuna Düsseldorf in the last five minutes, and had to settle for a draw.
Saturday’s game was set up to be a blockbuster, but the draw in Leipzig meant that Julian Nagelsmann’s side still trail Dortmund by three points, and should the visitors win on Saturday, they would secure second spot, while a win for the hosts would take it down to a nail-biting finish next weekend.
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RB Leipzig
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RB Leipzig go into Saturday’s game on the back of a disappointing result against Fortuna Düsseldorf on Wednesday. Chelsea-bound Timo Werner scored his 26th goal of the campaign in that game, and this will be his last game at the Red Bull Arena. Since the return, it has been hard to predict what Leipzig side will turn up, as there have been games where they have impressed, such as dominant victories away to Mainz, Koln and Hoffenheim.
While they’ve failed to see out results against Freiburg, Paderborn and Düsseldorf. All these late goals conceded could cost them second spot.
Borussia Dortmund
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Borussia Dortmund have looked deflated and lacklustre since their crushing defeat to Bayern Munich, barring their second half demolition of Paderborn. They did well to grind out a 1-0 win against the high-flying Hertha Berlin, but the last two performances haven’t been good enough, and its no surprise to see Lucien Favre under pressure going into the Leipzig game.
The winner at third bottom Fortuna Dusseldorf came in the 95th minute, with Erling Haaland coming off the bench to pinch the decisive goal. Wednesday’s game against Mainz was nothing short of woeful, with hardly any players performing at their level. Tomorrow is a huge game and everyone needs to be playing to their best and get the victory they need to secure second spot in the table.