Hannover 96 vs RB Leipzig 02/01/19

02 February 2019

Weekend’s Bundesliga action starts at the HDI-Arena where a vulnerable Hannover 96 side welcome the Champions League promotion contenders RB Leipzig.

The relegation fighters are currently four points adrift of the safe territory and are entering this round with a three-game Bundesliga losing streak. Hannover’s struggling in the past few months have seen them losing six of their last eight Bundesliga clashes (D2, L6), conceding 19 while scoring just four goals in the process. Thomas Doll has little to hope for in this encounter considering his team lost all of their previous four Bundesliga home meetings without scoring a single goal. The Reds’ tally of 18 goals scored in the opening 19 Bundesliga fixtures is the league third-lowest, with Hannover failing to hit the net six times so far. A defense that has already allowed 41 goals can’t provide consolation to Doll either, especially considering the Reds’ backline managed to keep a clean sheet only once this campaign.

Currently three points clear of the fifth-place Eintracht Frankfurt, the visitors chase back-to-back Bundesliga victories for the first time since early November. Ralf Ragnick’s men come into this meeting after a convincing 4-0 away triumph over Fortuna Dusseldorf that has brought their three-game road losing run to an end. The only thing that could help the visitors is Leipzig’s indifferent road form (W3, D2, L4). Far more comfortable at the Red Bull Arena, Leipzig so far collected 11 points on nine Bundesliga road trips which is just 32% of the overall points they’ve managed to accumulate this term. Furthermore, the Red Bulls have failed to score in four of their last six road meetings across all competitions, keeping a clean sheet only once in the sequence.

Provisional line-up – Hannover 96:

Gk: Esser Defense: Ostrzolek – Anton – Wimmer – Akpoguma Midfield: Albornoz – Iver Fossum – Bakalorz Attack: Asano – Weydandt – Nicolai Muller

Provisional line-up – RB Leipzig:

Gk: Gulacsi Defense: Halstenberg – Klostermann – Orban – Konate Midfield: Tyler Adams – Sabitzer – Demme – Laimer Attack: Timmo Werner – Yussuf Poulsen