RB Leipzig vs Werder Bremen: Preview, Prediction & Betting Tips

RB Leipzig hopes to finish the season in style as they host mid-table Werder Bremen at the Red Bull Arena.

Location: Red Bull Arena

Date: 11/05/2024

Kick–Off: 2.30 PM

RB Leipzig will be playing in Europe’s elite next season, following their impressive 4-1 victory over Borussia Dortmund last time out. Their position would have only been strengthened by the recent coefficient qualification headed down to the Bundesliga following their performances in the UEFA Champions League and the UEFA Europa League respectively.

The home side have enjoyed a rather successful season in the league, occupying fourth spot with two games left. Although it remains unrealistic, RB Leipzig can still mathematically finish inside the top two places behind current champions Bayer Leverkusen.

Realistically, all that RB Leipzig could potentially hope for is to finish third in the Bundesliga ahead of VFB Stuttgart. Leipzig are four points behind with two games left to play, so that would require Stuttgart to drop points in their final remaining two games.

As for their opponents Werder Bremen, they will once again be playing in Germany’s topflight next season. The away side is effectively safe barring a unique set of results, therefore they can start planning for next season’s campaign.

The previous meeting between the two teams resulted in a 1-1 draw. Lois Openda had his second-half goal cancelled out by Justin Njinmah.

RB LEIPZIG TEAM NEWS

Xaver Schlager is ruled out for the remainder of the season with a Cruciate ligament injury. Xavi Simons is currently serving a suspension, although it’s expected he will return for the game against Werder Bremen.

Lois Openda is the only player at risk of suspension.

WERDER BREMEN TEAM NEWS

Amos Pieper, Skelly Alvero and Justin Njinmah are all unavailable for this game. Naby Keita is indefinitely suspended by Werder Bremen. Leonardo Bittencourt, Marvin Ducksch, Niklas Stark and Anthony Jung are all suspension risks.

The recent history between the two sides suggests that the home side will be the favourites heading into this game against Werder Bremen. RB Leipzig has won four out of the last five meetings between the two sides in all competitions. Three of those victories have come in the Bundesliga, with the remaining game being in the DFB Pokal.

This fixture provides an average of 2.88 goals scored per match. RB Leipzig and Werder Bremen have met on 17 occasions with the home side victorious in ten. Werder Bremen have won three and drawn the remaining three between the two sides.

RB Leipzig are unbeaten in their last eight games in all competitions against their visitors, with the last defeat in 2019. Bremen won the fixture 2-1 at home thanks to goals from Milot Rashica and former Chelsea and Bayern Munich striker Claudio Pizarro.

In the last ten meetings between the two sides, there has only been one dismissal. Current Bayern Munich midfielder Konrad Laimer was dismissed for RB Leipzig in a 3-0 win away at Werder Bremen. The last three victories for RB Leipzig have resulted in 2-1 score-lines for the hosts. The fixture at the Red Bull Arena last season was a tremendous watch for the neutral.

Werder Bremen took the lead through Leonardo Bittencourt in the 70th minute before Willi Orban equalised for the hosts in the 87th. Leipzig left it late to deny Bremen their point against Leipzig since 2019 when current Liverpool midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai scored a 96th-minute winner.

The away side has a poor record away from the Red Bull Arena, having not won in their last six competitive games against their hosts. Before the previous fixture at the Red Bull Arena, Bremen had failed to score in their previous four visits with their last goal coming in a 3-1 loss in 2016. Naby Keita scored a brace for the hosts that game with Serge Gnabry getting on the scoresheet for Werder Bremen.

RB Leipzig’s home form has been their main strength in securing Champions League qualification this season. The home side have played 16 times at home this season in the Bundesliga and have won 11, drawn three and lost the remaining two games.

RB Leipzig boasts an impressive 69%-win rate at the Red Bull Arena, having only drawn 19% of their games, and losing only 13%. Amongst the leading scorers, RB Leipzig has averaged 2.44 goals per game at home this season. Defensively, they have only conceded 0.69 goals per game, keeping a clean sheet average of 50%.

The hosts head into this game against Werder Bremen, having won four out of their last five games at home and averaging 2.25 points per game. Leipzig last experienced defeat at home to Bayern Munich in February, where they were defeated 2-1 by the Champions League semi-finalists.

RB Leipzig’s previous home game was one to remember as they secured their qualification to next season’s Champions League. The hosts entertained Borussia Dortmund in which they recorded a comprehensive 4-1 victory over the away side.

Jadon Sancho opened the scoring for Borussia Dortmund before top-scorer Lois Openda and Benjamin Sesko gave the home side the lead just before half-time Goals from Mohamed Simakan and Christoph Baumgartner. RB Leipzig conceded 62% of the possession but totalled up seven more shots than their opposite number.

In their last game, the home side travelled to Hoffenheim in which they recorded a 1-1 draw. Andrej Kramaric denied RB Leipzig the victory after Benjamin Sesko had given them the lead.

Lois Openda has started 21 of RB Leipzig’s Bundesliga games this season and the Belgian international has scored 24 goals this season in a tremendous debut campaign from the former RC Lens striker. Openda averages 0.8 goals per game and averages a goal every 106 minutes of football played.

Werder Bremen’s away form doesn’t make good reading, as they face an RB Leipzig side with an impressive home record. The away side has played 16 games away from the Weserstadion and has only won 25% of their away games.

Their away record stands at four wins, four draws and eight losses, only averaging a single point per game on their travels. Werder Bremen have only won once from their last five games away from home in the league and only twice in their last five league games in general.

The positive for Werder Bremen would be that their most recent away victory was in the most recent weeks. In their last away fixture, they recorded a comfortable victory over FC Augsburg. Bremen provided all their goals in the second half as Oliver Deman, Marvin Ducksch and Romano Schmid secured the win for the away side.

Werder Bremen are winless in their last four away games, however, before this, they were unbeaten in the previous three away from home. During that mini-run, Bremen beat Koln, Bayern Munich and Mainz 05 by a 1-0 score-line.

Marvin Ducksch needs to be on form if Werder Bremen are to have any chances of gaining a respectable result at the weekend. The 30-year-old is enjoying a rather fine season for Werder Bremen, having 19 goal contributions for the away side this season.

The German forward has averaged 0.4 goals per game this season as well as contributing seven assists for his club. Ducksch has been in rather good form for the visitors over the last five games, having scored three goals in that time including a brace over VFB Stuttgart.

RB Leipzig has tremendous home form and far more impressive form than their opponents. Werder Bremen are winless in their last eight against Leipzig and we expect that run to continue.

RB Leipzig 4-1 Werder Bremen

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The game will not be broadcast live in the UK

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