Bundesliga: Red Bulls Look to End Slump at the Expense of Augsburg

RB Leipzig vs FC Augsburg

After two consecutive wins to start their Bundesliga campaign, Die Roten Bullen have found it difficult to sustain their early challenge and have since then dwindled on their results.

Back-to-back goalless draws against St. Pauli and Union Berlin, whilst suffering a tight 2-1 loss against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League after a 90^th-minute winner from Jose Maria Gimenez; this is what it’s been like with Marco Rose’s side so far, and for their sake, a convincing result against Augsburg is a necessary outcome.

Despite all that, Leipzig remain undefeated in the league and are currently sitting fifth in the table.

And whilst on one hand, Die Roten Bullen rue their missed chances in their stalemates, Augsburg—on the other hand—would be over the moon had they had the Bundesliga 2024 results that Leipzig have.

Die Fuggerstadter, 12^th in the table, are yet to find a rhythm in their campaign, with only a win against St. Pauli the bright spot in their Bundesliga season so far.

To their credit, they fought hard against Mainz last time out, only to end as the losers in an entertaining contest.

As they visit Red Bull Arena on Saturday, Augsburg will hope that they can catch Leipzig off-footed and still out of form. Otherwise, it’s going to be a long night for the Bavarians.

 

Talking Points

Benjamin Sesko is yet to strike

The 21-year-old striker is one of the most sought-after forwards in today’s game. His ceiling is through the roof, and he’s already shown his scoring prowess at a young age, when he netted 14 goals in 31 Bundesliga games for Leipzig last season.

Prior to joining Die Rotten Bullen, Sesko was with their sister team at Salzburg—he scored 16 goals in 30 league matches for the Austrian Bundesliga in 2022/23. He was also stellar in the UEFA Nations League just a few weeks back, scoring a hat-trick against Kazakhstan and a penalty vs Austria.

However, Sesko is still goalless in four league appearances for Leipzig so far. He wasn’t at his best against Bochum, St. Pauli and Union Berlin, whilst he had an assist in their 3-2 win over Leverkusen.

He’s also scored a goal in the Champions League against Atletico Madrid, albeit it ended in a loss.

Saturday’s match will be another chance for Sesko to finally find the back of the (Bundesliga) net. And Leipzig need him to produce, especially after blanking in their last two league contests.

 

Augsburg’s messy match at home

After a 3-1 victory over St. Pauli, Die Fuggerstadter played as hosts once again (vs Mainz), looking to finally get some sort of momentum to their Bundesliga campaign.

Instead, a 3-2 loss that involved both clubs having a player sent off was what Augsburg had to settle with.

Mainz opened the scoring with a header from Armindo Sieb in the 13^th minute. Two minutes later, Augsburg found themselves in a 2-0 hole from yet another header. This time, it was Jonathan Burkardt heading the ball past Nediljko Labrovic.

Augsburg would hit back courtesy of a Keven Schlotterbeck goal, and with Nadiem Amiri getting sent off in the 35^th minute, Augsburg—despite being a goal down—were given a lifeline.

But they were unable to capitalise on their advantage, and went down 3-1 instead after Burkardt got his second of the match a few minutes after half-time.

Samuel Essende would pull one back for Augsburg, and just when they thought they could stage a comeback, Essende was given a red card in the 70^th minute for violent conduct.

 

History

Since 2011, Augsburg and Leipzig had met each other 20 times, with Die Roten Bullen having a dominant record over their opponents from Bavaria (11W-6D-3L).

Their last six matches were all high-scoring affairs, barring a 1-1 draw in 2021.

 

Betting Tip

Leipzig are obviously the favourites for this one, with the SBOTOP Bundesliga 2024 odds pricing them at 1.38 to win. Augsburg, on the other hand, are 6.10 underdogs, whilst a draw is at 4.67.

I know the Red Bulls are not in the best of form so far, but a match against a lowly Augsburg side is just what they need to get back on track.

There’s also a good chance that this will finally be the game where Benjamin Sesko will get off the mark. And with Leipzig’s quality, they have enough at their disposal to deliver goals against Augsburg.

   

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