Buddy duel on the bench
In football it is difficult to build friendships and even more complicated to maintain them. Marco Rose and Sandro Schwarz have been close friends for a long time, once shared a flat, are the godfathers of their children and Marco Rose is also Sandro Schwarz’s best man. For 90 minutes, however, this relationship will be put to rest as they meet in the Bundesliga on Saturday as coaches of RB Leipzig and Hertha BSC.
Both coaches are in desperate need of points. Leipzig are behind the expectations. Eleventh place, twelve points and also only three wins are just as much a RB negative record after nine matchdays as 14 goals and 13 conceded. Marco Rose needs the win to catch up with the international places.
The old lady from the capital could already be placed in the area where Sandro Schwarz’s team currently finds itself. Eight points and 14th place mean a relegation battle from which the Berliners will probably not free themselves for the rest of the season.
The Saxons are generally not an opponent Hertha can compete with. Since RasenBallsport’s promotion in 2016, the Leipzigers have picked up 135 more points in the top flight than the old lady and have always been ahead of the Berliners in the standings. That says a lot about the differences between these two clubs and therefore in the duel RB Leipzig vs Hertha the tip should have something to do with a home win.
RB Leipzig – Statistics & current form
It’s too short notice to make a judgement now on whether the change of coach from Domenico Tedesco to Marco Rose was the right one. In any case, the new coach is now getting the results that the Bulls so desperately need. In the Champions League, qualification for the round of 16 is once again in their own hands, and in the DFB Cup, a home win against HSV on Tuesday should be a mere formality.
Positive trend for the Bulls
Only in the Bundesliga do the Saxons still have some catching up to do. But if Marco Rose succeeds in continuing to adjust his team, then the Bullen should climb a few places soon. After all, they have won three and drawn one of their last four games, which is why we think the odds on a win for the home side should be examined before the encounter between RB Leipzig and Hertha BSC, especially as RasenBallsport have never lost a home game in the Bundesliga in October.
During the week, there was the extremely important victory in the Champions League at Celtic Glasgow, the first away win ever this season. Timo Werner and Emil Forsberg scored a 2-0 win. Leipzig are now in second place and only need one more win in their clash with Shakhtyor Donetsk to book their ticket to the last 16.
After an English week, it always depends on which players are fresh. Marco Rose could therefore also opt for a larger rotation. Whether Marcel Halstenberg will be there with muscular problems in the rib area is still up in the air. The long-term injured Dani Olmo, Peter Gulacsi, Lukas Klostermann and Konrad Laimer will certainly not be playing.
Predicted line-up of RB Leipzig:
Blaswich – Henrichs, Orban, Diallo, Raum – Schlager, Kampl – Forsberg, Nkunku, Werner – Silva – Coach: Rose
Last matches played by RB Leipzig:
Champions League Grp. F
12/10/2022 – Celtic Glasgow 0 – 2 RB Leipzig
Bundesliga
08/10/2022 – Mainz 05 1 – 1 RB Leipzig
Champions League Grp. F
05/10/2022 – RB Leipzig 3 – 1 Celtic Glasgow
Bundesliga
01/10/2022 – RB Leipzig 4 – 0 VfL Bochum
17/09/2022 – Gladbach 3 – 0 RB Leipzig
Hertha – Statistics & current form
You can’t expect miraculous things from a team that was relegated by a whisker last season and is burdened with extreme turmoil in the managerial ranks. Sandro Schwarz, however, has managed to restore some stability to the old lady. The Berliners have scored in some games that they probably would have lost last season.
Remis series of the old lady
However, it’s also too little if you only ever share the points and don’t win enough. The Berliners currently have four draws in a row to their name. This means that the capital is only one draw away from the club record. They could certainly live with that at the Red Bull Arena, but we maintain that the forecast between RB Leipzig and Hertha must clearly go to a success for the hosts.
Last weekend, Berlin hosted Freiburg at the Olympiastadion. If we look at the table, the Sportclub is a real top team. Accordingly, the guests also took an early lead. However, after goals from Dodi Lukebakio and Suat Serdar, Hertha managed to turn the game around. A quarter of an hour before the final whistle, Freiburg still managed to score a deserved 2:2.
Wilfried Kanga and Davie Selke were weakened by flu and trained individually during the week. But they should be enough for the squad. In any case, Stevan Jovetic is likely to be preferred again in attack. Marco Richter would also be an offensive option. Jean-Paul Boetius, Jessic Ngankam, Kelian Nsona and Filip Uremovic will definitely not be playing for the Old Lady.
Predicted line-up of Hertha:
Christensen – Kenny, Rogel, Kempf, Plattenhardt – Sunjic, Tousart, Serdar – Lukebakio, Jovetic, Ejuke – Coach: Schwarz
Last matches played by Hertha:
Bundesliga
09/10/2022 – Hertha BSC 2 – 2 SC Freiburg
02/10/2022 – Hertha BSC 1 – 1 Hoffenheim
Club friendlies
22/09/2022 – 1. FC Frankfurt 0 – 8 Hertha BSC
Bundesliga
17/09/2022 – Mainz 05 1 – 1 Hertha BSC
10/09/2022 – Hertha BSC 2 – 2 Bayer Leverkusen
RB Leipzig – Hertha Direct comparison / H2H balance
Sure, it’s not the Berlin derby, but at least it’s an eastern duel in the Bundesliga. So a little derby character will come up there. In the last six encounters between these two clubs, there have been five penalties and three sending-offs. In total, there have been twelve direct duels, all in the Bundesliga. The record is almost dramatically bad for Hertha. RB is 10:1 ahead after victories. Once there was a division of points.
The Saxons have a better series against no other club in the Bundesliga. In each of the twelve Bundesliga games against Berlin, the Bullen scored at least two goals. Last season, things got really bitter for the old lady twice. In Leipzig, the Bullen first won 6:0 and in the return match at the Olympiastadion, Hertha were also dispatched 6:1.
RB Leipzig – Hertha Tip
There really isn’t much to suggest that Hertha will take anything worthwhile home from Leipzig on Saturday. Only the series of four draws gives hope that the Berliners can at least get a point in the Red Bull Arena. All the other hard facts, however, speak more in favour of the Saxons taking the game home with some degree of confidence.
RB has not won more often against any other club in the Bundesliga. In the last season, the Berliners were literally shown up twice by the Bullen. On top of that, the rebuilding of form under Marco Rose is clearly visible.
The prices are correspondingly low. We can also imagine betting on HT/FT for the Leipzig team. We don’t think that it will be another landslide victory with five to six goals difference, but we have nevertheless decided to play the odds on a handicap victory (-1.5) for the home side between RB Leipzig and Hertha.
