RB Leipzig will look to get back to winning ways when they welcome FC Koln to Red Bull Arena this Friday for the 22nd round of the 2021/22 Bundesliga season.
Venue: Red Bull Arena (Leipzig)
Key Statistics
This season, eight of Leipzig’s nine Bundesliga wins have come at home (L3).
Christopher Nkunku is Leipzig’s leading goalscorer in the Bundesliga this season with 10 so far, but Andre Silva is only one behind him.
FC Koln are unbeaten in their last five away league games (W2, D3).
Eight of Anthony Modeste’s 14 goals this season have put the Billy Goats in front, four were equalisers, and two brought them back to within one goal of the opposition.
The Billy Goats have delivered a league-high 317 crosses from open play, leading to 14 goals. Twelve of those were headers, with nine from Modeste alone.
Leipzig, as a club, have five goals from headers.
Head to head
In nine head-to-head encounters between the two sides, RB Leipzig hold the advantage. They have won four games, lost two and drawn three.
Latest performances in all competitions
RB Leipzig: L-W-W-W-W
FC Koln: W-D-D-L-L
RB Leipzig
After a disappointing loss to Bayern Munich last week, RB Leipzig will look to resume their quest for a top-four finish when they host FC Koln on Friday.
The hosts come into this tie on the back of a 3-2 loss to Julian Nagelsmann’s Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga. Goals from Thomas Muller and the red-hot Robert Lewandowski and an own goal from young Croatian centre-back Josko Gvardiol sealed the deal for Bayern Munich.
Although Andre Silva and the in-form Christopher Nkunku scored for the Red Bull outfit, their goals proved to be a mere consolation.
The result and Union Berlin‘s loss to Augsburg means that Domenico Tedesco’s side are just three points behind the Champions League places. They are currently sitting in seventh place but can jump into the top four if they win this game, considering their healthy goal difference.
Meanwhile, the ‘Red Bulls’ have never suffered over one home league defeat at this stage in any prior season, and only once have they registered more than their current eight home wins (L3). This has helped them to claim 77% of their total points at home in this campaign. They will be confident of adding another win to their name this Friday.
Possible Leipzig starting line-up
Peter Gulacsi, Lukas Klostermann, Willi Orban, Josko Gvardiol, Nordi Mukiele, Amadou Haidara, Kevin Kampl, Benjamin Henrichs, Christopher Nkunku, Emil Forsberg, Andre Silva.
Injured: Marcel Halstenberg, Simakan
Doubtful: Tyler Adams
Suspended: None
FC Koln
Cologne come into this tie on the back of a 1-0 win over Koln, Christian Streich’s Freiburg in the league. A first-half goal from experienced French striker Anthony Modeste secured the win for Koln and ensured that they remained within touching distance of the top four.
They are currently sitting in sixth place, two points behind fourth-placed Union Berlin. They sit one place above their opponents (W8, D8, L5) and now have only one point less than at this stage in 2016/2017 – their best season this century (fifth). The Billy Goats had eight wins, 34 goals and 33 points in the whole of last season as they finished 16th. After 21 games this term, they already have eight wins, 33 goals and 32 points.
Much of Koln’s success in this campaign has been built on strong second halves, as five of their eight Bundesliga wins came after a level half-time score.
Steffen Baumgart’s side are unbeaten in three against Leipzig (W1, D2). They are also on a run of five games without defeat on the road (W2, D3), in a run that accounts for 82% of their total away points.
Possible FC Koln starting line-up
Timo Horn, Benno Schmitz, Luca Kilian, Timo Hubers, Jonas Hector, Salih Ozcan, Sebastian Andersson, Dejan Ljubicic, Florian Kainz, Anthony Modeste, Jan Thielmann.
Injured: None
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Prediction
RB Leipzig 2-1 FC Koln
