Does Leipzig exacerbate the ex-coach’s relegation worries?

Ahead of the direct clash between RB Leipzig and VfL Wolfsburg, of all clubs, the Wolves suffered a personnel blow during the week. VfL managing director and club icon Marcel Schäfer was relieved of his duties with immediate effect after announcing internally that he would be seeking an early termination of his contract in the summer in order to move to another club. This potential new employer is RB Leipzig and would like to install Schäfer in the management team as the successor to Max Eberl, who has since taken over responsibility for the intended upheaval at FC Bayern.

The clash on Saturday afternoon will therefore be a highly charged one. Not just off the pitch, of course, but also on it, as both teams are in desperate need of points. While the Saxons cannot afford to slip up in the race for the coveted Champions League tickets, the Wolves would also be well advised to bag a point or two to finally banish the spectre of relegation from the Autostadt. Perhaps the Bulls have come at just the right time as opponents, as the Green-Whites have won the first two duels of the season against the Central City side

According to the betting odds, however, there are some indications that Ralph Hasenhüttl’s team, who is known to have a RB past himself, will lose out on the 29th matchday in the Bundesliga this weekend. Those who disagree and want to bet on a surprise coup for the visitors will find a whopping 7.75 at Happybet for the bet on an away win between RB Leipzig and Wolfsburg. In view of the high risk, it may even be worth taking advantage of the attractive Happybet bonus. As a new customer, you will receive a 150% bonus of up to 100 additional euros on your first deposit

RB Leipzig – Statistics & current form

RB Leipzig are undoubtedly one of the most in-form teams in the German top flight. The cup winners of the last two years have recorded an impressive 13 points from their last five games and have moved back into one of the top four places in the table for the first time since matchday 18. Although the Central City side will probably have to fear for qualification for the top flight until the very end in 2023/24, it must be said that Rose’s side have more points to their name this season than at the same point in the last two seasons.

The Saxons have been in particularly good form at home recently. After two home defeats at the start of the 2024 soccer year, the last four matches at home have yielded ten out of a possible twelve points. The East Germans only dropped points in the 0-0 draw against Mainz, which was primarily due to a lack of chances. In this context, it was also remarkable that the Champions League round of 16 finalists did not concede a goal in all four matches at the Red Bull Arena and were able to celebrate all three victories with at least a two-goal lead.

Will Leipzig keep their foot on the gas pedal?

In general, it could be a sensible approach to predict a handicap win (-1) for the fourth-placed team on Saturday between RB Leipzig and Wolfsburg. The 13 of their 16 wins this season have come with a difference of two or more goals, including all six Bundesliga victories in 2024. Should the Bulls score another early goal at the weekend, we are firmly convinced that it will not stop at this one goal. The RB offense is too strong, powerful and of high quality.

Lois Openda deserves special mention in this context. The Belgian not only scored two goals in the impressive 4:1 away win at SC Freiburg the previous week, but also set up the other two goals. The attacker became the first RBL player since Christopher Nkunku in 2020 to score four goals in a match. In total, the speedy striker, who sometimes slips into the role of “chance killer”, has scored in 17 of his team’s 28 matches.

Unsurprisingly, we have Openda on our radar as a goalscorer and can even imagine checking the odds before the RB Leipzig v Wolfsburg clash that he will put the hosts 1:0 ahead. The top odds are 3.80 and can be played at Happybet.

Predicted line-up of RB Leipzig:

Wolfsburg – Statistics & current form

Wolfsburg coach Ralph Hasenhüttl’s debut could hardly have gone better two weeks ago. The club from Lower Saxony won the away game at SV Werder Bremen 2-0 on the Weser, ending their previous eleven-match winless streak in the German top flight. Last weekend, it also initially looked as though VfL would be able to add to their success, but despite taking a 1:0 lead at home to Borussia Mönchengladbach, the former German champions ultimately lost 3:1 and must therefore continue to fear for their place in the league.

Because only bottom-placed Darmstadt have gained fewer points (4) than VfL (8) in the second half of the season so far, the Whites have slipped to 14th place in the overall standings. The lead over the relegation places has shrunk to five points. The situation is certainly threatening, even though the Autostadt club have the final spurt with direct duels against Darmstadt, Bochum or Mainz in their own hands to secure their place in the league. In any case, we wouldn’t make any predictions ahead of the RB Leipzig v Wolfsburg match that the Lower Saxons will unexpectedly have to go through to relegation

Can Hasenhüttl stabilize the Wolves in the long term?

However, it is also clear that Maximilian Arnold and Co. will have to improve considerably in the coming weeks. The performance in the second half against Gladbach in particular was reminiscent of times long forgotten under Niko Kovac. Wolfsburg have now squandered 23 points after taking the lead. More than ever before in an entire Bundesliga season! At Betano, a corresponding bet can be placed at maximum odds of 5.90 that Leipzig, coming back from a deficit, will ultimately retain the upper hand

Another area that the Austrian coach must get under control is his work against the ball. The Whites have conceded two or more goals in five of their last six league games. Individual mistakes in defense and a lack of relief in offense are currently making the mission even more difficult. After only one win from the last 13 league games, which was also scored in superior numbers, there can be no question of self-confidence either. Under normal circumstances, it is therefore worth considering the odds that the favored hosts will score at least once in both halves between RB Leipzig and Wolfsburg.

Predicted Wolfsburg line-up:

RB Leipzig – Wolfsburg head-to-head comparison / H2H result

In the introduction, we already touched on the two matches so far this season. Both in the first half of the season (2:1) and in the second round of the DFB Cup (1:0), Wolfsburg surprisingly brought RB Leipzig to their knees. However, this match will now take place at the Red Bull Arena for the first time this season. This is relevant insofar as the Saxons have not lost any of their last eight home games against VfL and have even come out on top in six of them. In total, they have only conceded four goals. The most recent three home games were all won 2-0

RB Leipzig – Wolfsburg betting tip

68 times Ralph Hasenhüttl has been on the RB Leipzig touchline in the Bundesliga. Together with Julian Nagelsmann, the Austrian is therefore the club’s record coach in the Bundesliga. But only in terms of the number of games, as his points average in the early years of the RBL project was subsequently only beaten by Jesse Marsch. The long-serving Southampton head coach returns to his old home on Saturday and will be hoping to return to the Autostadt with three points at best.

Admittedly, however, there are hardly any arguments to justify a bet on the visitors between RB Leipzig and Wolfsburg. Although the Wolves have narrowly prevailed in both duels so far this season, the matches took place at the Volkswagen Arena. In Leipzig, meanwhile, the Green-Whites have not won any of their last eight competitive matches. The better form, the higher individual quality and their own stability mean that the pendulum is swinging even more clearly in the direction of the Rose eleven, so we expect a relatively confident three-pointer from the favorites

We are therefore of the opinion that there is attractive value in the odds on the handicap triumph of the Bulls (-1) in the duel between RB Leipzig and Wolfsburg. For a home win with two or more goals difference, 2.05 is offered at Interwetten.