Bundesliga returns with exciting Leipzig-Dortmund clash
By Matt Addison
The Bundesliga has served up a potentially brilliant game as the league returns after the winter break.
With the Bundesliga returning from the winter break this coming weekend, halftime leaders Borussia Dortmund must overcome the tricky RB Leipzig on their first match back.
Dortmund could be just three points ahead of second-place Bayern Munich by the time they kick off should the reigning champions win at Hoffenheim on Friday night, which would increase the pressure on Lucien Favre’s side.
Leipzig are fourth and well-placed to qualify for the Champions League for a second successive season and will certainly be no pushovers; they lost narrowly against Bayern just before Christmas via a late Franck Ribery strike, so they have proved they can mix it with the best.
Key battles
Ibrahima Konate and Dayot Upamecano in the Leipzig defense will find themselves up against the formidable Paco Alcacer provided he is back from a hamstring issue.
The forward has 12 goals in 12 league matches this season having signed on loan from Barcelona for the year.
Lukas Klostermann and Marcel Halstenberg will also have to contend with Jadon Sancho and Marco Reus, whose talents have been well documented. Christian Pulisic is another option, but despite Chelsea spending big on him, the American has not featured much from the start this campaign.
At the other end, Bruma, Timo Werner and Yussuf Poulsen will look to cause problems for Omer Toprak and Achraf Hakimi, two of Dortmund’s likely defenders.
Werner, in particular, is a player worth keeping an eye on — he has 11 goals and two assists in the league so far this season and has been linked with a move to the likes of Liverpool in recent weeks.
Meanwhile, in midfield, Diego Demme and Marcel Sabitzer could face Axel Witsel and Thomas Delaney, Dortmund’s go-to midfield duo. Leipzig’s influential midfielder Kevin Kampl is likely to be missing with a broken toe.
Previous meetings
Leipzig were only promoted to the Bundesliga in 2016, and indeed were only founded in 2009, so there have been only five previous matches between the two teams.
The reverse fixture this season saw the league leaders win 4-1 at Signal Iduna Park, with Reus, Mahmoud Dahoud and Witsel on the scoresheet for the hosts, along with an own-goal from Sabitzer.
Last season, Leipzig won 3-2 in Dortmund and drew 1-1 at home, and the season before that — Leipzig’s first in the top flight — both games ended 1-0 to the team playing at home.
Both teams need the points at the top end of the Bundesliga, and it should be interesting viewing.