According To Sky Sports News. I’m RB Leipzig vs St. Pauli: Preview and Prediction.

German giants RB Leipzig will host fellow Bundesliga outfit St. Pauli at the Red Bull Arena on Tuesday in the second round of the DFB-Pokal.

RB Leipzig, currently second in the Bundesliga with 20 points from six games (four wins and two draws), will look to continue their winning streak against St. Pauli, who have been winless in their last four matches across competitions. Despite not winning the UEFA Champions League, Leipzig is unbeaten in the league and will aim to advance further in the DFB-Pokal.

RB Leipzig trounced Essen 4-1 in the first round of the cup tournament and will now face St. Pauli, who are trying to get started in the new season. The visitors are 16th in the Bundesliga rankings, having won only one of their eight league games. While they defeated Hallescher in the first round, Leipzig will be an entirely different battle. The Hard Tackle analyses both teams and attempts to predict the strategies they might employ.

Team News & Tactics

RB Leipzig

RB Leipzig will be missing Peter Gulacsi, Xavi Simons, Xaver Schlager, David Raum, Assan Ouedraogo, and Nicolas Seiwald. Marco Rose may have a number of injury problems, but he still has a good roster to pick from. His squad will play in a 4-4-2 formation, with Maarten Vandevoordt likely to start in goal. The fullbacks should be Benjamin Henrichs and Lutsharel Geertruida, with Willi Orban and Lukas Klostermann at the centre of the defensive. Christoph Baumgartner and Eljif Elmas will play out wide on the sides, while Amadou Haidara and Arthur Vermeeren will try to control the tempo from a more central position in midfield. In attack, Benjamin Sesko will team up with Yussuf Poulsen.

Probable Lineup (4-4-2): Vandevoordt; Geertruida, Klostermann, Orban, Henrichs; Baumgartner, Haidara, Vermeeren, Elmas; Sesko, Poulsen

St. Pauli

The visitors will be without Ben Alexander Voll, Elias Saad, Connor Metcalfe, Sascha Burchert, Simon Zoller, and Soren Ahlers. Alexander Blessin will undoubtedly face difficult options with some of his starters injured. St. Pauli will line up in a 3-4-3 formation, with Nikola Vasilj in goal. The back three will consist of Hauke Wahl, Eric Smith, and Karol Mets. Manolis Saliakas and Philipp Treu will be the away team’s wingbacks. They will try to contribute from both ends of the pitch, but they will face a difficult day dealing with the opposition’s wide players.

Jackson Irvine and Carlo Boukhalfa will team up in the park’s centre. The duo will attempt to protect the back line and prevent Leipzig from dominating the ball too deep in their half. Oladapo Afolayan and Andreas Albers will widen their attacks, while Johannes Eggestein will continue to lead the queue for them.

Probable Lineup (3-4-3): Vasilj; Wahl, Smith, Mets; Saliakas, Irvine, Boukhalfa, Treu; Afolayan, Eggestein, Albers

Key Stats

• Interestingly, St. Pauli have a superior head-to-head record, having won three out of the five matches between the two teams.
• RB Leipzig have only won once against the visitors which came back in November 2014.
• St. Pauli have only won one out of their last nine games in all competitions. (six defeats, two draws)
• Leipzig have an impressive home record as they have unbeaten in 10 out of their last 12 home games. (seven wins, three draws)
• The visitors have been beaten in three of their four most recent away games.

Player to Watch

Benjamin Sesko

Sesko was one of the most sought-after players in the previous summer transfer window. Some of Europe’s best teams wanted to sign the forward, but he chose to stay with RB Leipzig. He has had a good start to the new season, with six goals and three assists in 12 games, but he will be looking to add to that in this game and is the one to watch out for.

Prediction

RB Leipzig 2-1 St. Pauli

While St. Pauli has a better head-to-head record, their recent performance has been below par. Meanwhile, while their opponents suffered in the Champions League, they have been dominating domestically. RB Leipzig is unlikely to have any issue dealing with a team at the opposite end of the division. The Hard Tackle predicts a 2-1 victory for the home team.

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