RB Leipzig vs Augsburg: Home win with under 4.5 goals

The Bundesliga resumes action this weekend with FC Augsburg facing an excellent RB Leipzig team in a vital encounter at the Red Bull Arena Leipzig on Saturday. 

FC Augsburg is now 13th in the Bundesliga rankings and has not been at its best this season. The away team was defeated 3-1 by FC Koln last week and will need to come back in this encounter. 

RB Leipzig, on the other hand, is currently in fourth position in the league rankings and has been rather good this season. The hosts defeated Hertha Berlin 1-0 in their previous match and will try to improve this weekend.

The excellent form of RB Leipzig especially at home makes Leipzig the favorite to win. In terms of goals, the statistical data suggests on 8% of games between these two teams produced over 4.5 goals. Hence, we expect a home win with under 4.5 goals. 

After losing three consecutive matches either side of the international break to crash out of the Champions League group stages and drop out of the top four in the table, Leipzig is much more optimistic about the rest of the season after wins against Borussia Dortmund in the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals and Hertha Berlin last time out in the Bundesliga.

Indeed, if Leipzig can retain their German cup title and qualify for Champions League football, the season can be considered a huge success considering the fact that it is the coach's maiden season with RB Leipzig. 

With difficult visits to Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich on the horizon, as well as a double-header against Freiburg in the league and the DFB-Pokal at the start of next month, Leipzog cannot afford to squander points against opponents like Augsburg, especially at home.

RB Leipzig's possible starting lineup:

Goalkeeper: Blaswich;

Defender: Simakan, Orban, Gvardiol;

Midfielders: Henrichs, Kampl, Haidara, Raum;

Strikers: Szoboszlai, Werner, Olmo

Augsburg has only earned two points in their past nine away excursions. The team did ring to end a five-match losing run on the road with a recent 2-2 draw against Wolfsburg. At home, Augsburg's five-match undefeated run was ended last weekend by FC Koln, who won.

While it is unlikely that Augsburg's 12-year tenure in the Bundesliga will end this season, the fact that four of their final seven matches are against clubs presently occupying a slot in the top seven standings may cause Maassen and his players some stress. Augsburg, on the other hand, will have chances against Stuttgart and VfL Bochum to put more distance between themselves and the two teams below them in the table, making tougher matches like Saturday's trip to Leipzig more of a free hit given the gap they already have ahead of the dreaded drop zone.

Augsburg's possible starting lineup:

Goalkeeper: Gikiewicz; 

Defenders: Gumny, Bauer, Gouweleeuw, Iago; 

Midfielders: Maier, Engels, Rexhbecaj, Vargas; 

Strikers: Berisha, Beljo

RB Leipzig has an exceptional group at their disposal and will be determined to stay in the top four. Leipzig has played with significantly better control in each of their recent triumphs, with an additional defender replacing Silva assisting them in maintaining possession at a far higher level. Timo Werner has made a comeback this season and will hope to perform well in this encounter.

FC Augsburg has a bad record at the Red Bull Arena and will need to improve this weekend. RB Leipzig is now the better team and should be able to win this game. Augsburg may be able to keep the game close at the Red Bull Arena on Saturday, however, we anticipate the hosts to take a huge step towards ensuring Champions League football for the sixth consecutive season with a crucial victory. Potential scoreline includes 3-1, 3-0, or 2-0. A couple of combinations can be extracted from this.

Below are the expert's bets to consider. 

• W1 and under 4.5 goals for 1.76 odds (1xbet);
• BTTS for 1.89 odds (Coinplay);
• Over 9 corners for 1.90 odds (Bet365);