RB Leipzig vs. Borussia Mönchengladbach preview: The Foals travel to face ex-captain Reitz

RB Leipzig will start their Bundesliga season at home against Borussia Mönchengladbach.

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After the club’s record sale of Yan Diomande to Real Madrid, RB Leipzig will host Borussia Mönchengladbach in the opening matchday of the new Bundesliga season.

RB Leipzig

Back in the Champions League after last season’s third-placed Bundesliga finish, RB Leipzig are competing on three fronts once again. Their opening Red Bull Arena fixture will be against Borussia Mönchengladbach as they hope for a better start than last term.

Ole Werner’s side lost 6-0 at Bayern in the season’s curtain-raiser. The 38-year-old coach produced one of Leipzig’s best Bundesliga seasons after that false start, and Martin Demichelis will now hope for a positive start as his bosses are yet to complete their homework in the transfer window.

Team News

Christopher Baumgartner and Assan Ouedraogo will not be available for the Argentine coach in the first few weeks of the campaign. Leipzig’s first signing of the summer Rocco Reitz will face the club he captained last season. Maxime Estève and returnee Christopher Nkunku are also ready for their debuts.

Borussia Mönchengladbach

Gladbach opened their campaign with a 5-0 win over Oberliga side Schott Mainz last week in the DFB-Pokal. Hugo Bolin and Wael Mohya have the potential to enjoy a breakthrough season, and they both opened their accounts last Sunday.

Once a European regular, Gladbach have finished in the bottom half of the standings in each of the last five seasons. That reality isn’t expected to be changed now as ex-Bundesliga midfielder Eugen Polanski is preparing for his first full campaign.

Team News

South Korea international Jens Castrop and new signing Yukhym Konoplya will be on the sidelines for a lengthy period after serious injuries during pre-season. Tim Kleindienst will lead the attacking line after his return from a long-term injury, while Ko Itakura is back for his second spell at the club.

Head-to-head

Only two goals were scored in the head-to-head meetings between the teams in the last couple of seasons. Diomande was the only goalscorer last season, scoring the winner ten minutes from time at Red Bull Arena.

The last time both teams scored in this fixture was during the 2021/22 season. Leipzig are unbeaten at home against Gladbach with six wins from the first ten encounters.

Predicted Lineups

Click here to see our predicted RB Leipzig vs. Gladbach lineups.