Bundesliga: RB Leipzig vs. Stuttgart Preview, Odds, Prediction

RB Leipzig meets Stuttgart this Friday night in the opening game of Bundesliga’s round 18. These two teams had a busy few days, playing during the weekend and this Tuesday. RB was masterful in Gelsenkirchen, where they trashed Schalke like just a few teams in history did. Meanwhile, Stuttgart had a very intense and interesting matchup in Hoffenheim, where they ended up taking one point.

Preview

RB Leipzig (-205) defeated Schalke 1-6, in a game that saw the Bulls stampeding over the rivals who didn’t know what hit him. Just to remind they did this without Nkunku, who is among the top 5 strikers in Europe. It was 0-2 in the opening 15 minutes, and with two more goals in the stoppage time of the opening sequence, the game was pretty much sealed.

After 1-1 against Bayern Munich at the Red Bull Arena, this comes as a major boost. The Bulls are now only four points behind Bayern who squeezed out one point against Koln on Tuesday night.

When looking RB’s Bundesliga games at home, we see that along with Union Berlin, there aren’t better teams in the league in this aspect. After eight events played at the Red Bull Arena, Marco Rose’s unit has six wins and two ties, for 20 points. The goal difference is 20-6.

Stuttgart (+550) played 2-2 in Hoffenheim. They were down a goal in the beginning but managed to pull back from behind and take the lead. Yet in the fourth minute of the injury time, the hosts netted, thus stealing one point from this event.

This was the second straight tie for Die Schwaben, who are still barely above the relegation line, which puts additional pressure on them before this event. Right now, they have 16 points, the same as the teams below the red zone.

Stuttgart is yet to win this year on the road. In eight games played away from their stadium, Schwaben posted four draws and four losses, with eight goals scored and 19 allowed. In seven of the past eight road trips in Bundesliga games, Stuttgart allowed at least two goals.

Latest news

Gulsaci and Nkunku are out due to repsecitve injuries.

Borna Sosa, Ulrich and Zagadou are unavailable for the guests.

Head to Head Games

The first meeting of the year was in early August. That event ended with a tie, as both teams netted a goal. Nkunku opened the show, and Ahmada loved the result. In the previous four events, we saw the Bulls beating Stuttgart on all occasions without allowing a single goal.

Prediction

After analyzing all the factors, we need to say that anything else here besides RB’s win would be a surprise. The Bulls are playing fast and flamboyant football, even though, Nkunku isn’t available. It turns out that Rose has plenty of other options in the attack, primarily Timo Werner who is in good shape. That’s why we have to bet on the hosts’ victory here, with the current odds on that set at -205. For those who want to increase their profits, try RB -1.5, with the odds on that being at +125.

Pick: RB wins -205

Here are more previews for this weekend.

• Bayer Leverkusen vs. Borussia Dortmund 
• Bayern Munich vs. Eintracht Frankfurt
• Napoli vs. Roma