Union vs Leipzig Prediction 1 February 2025

🔊 Will RB's trip to the capital of Germany be successful? The game day of the 20th round of the Bundesliga will conclude with a match between Union and Leipzig. The visitors have an incomparably stronger squad eager to get back on the winning track. However, the hosts, who are overly focused on defensive actions, will stubbornly resist. It's unlikely that the clash at the "An der Alten Försterei" stadium will be a "high-scoring" one, but the intensity of the battle may still be high throughout all 90 minutes.

📊 HEAD-TO-HEAD

The first round meeting ended in a dull draw (0:0). An interesting fact is that prior to the recent match, Leipzig had been scoring against Union for 10 years.

🔴 UNION

The home club continues to linger in the lower part of the standings: 20 points and only 14th place. It is worth noting that Union is dangerously close to the relegation zone. However, the hosts are not striving to change their game concept, which is why they have achieved only one victory in the last 5 matches - against Mainz with a score of 2:1. In other cases, the team not only lost but also showed complete impotence in terms of attack. On average, the Berlin club scores 0.84 goals. We understand that in the confrontation with Leipzig, significantly exceeding this value will be unrealistic. Especially considering that the hosts will retreat to their half and traditionally park the "bus" (42.1% possession). In terms of personnel, Berliners have local problems. For example, one of the main defenders, Kverfeld, will not play due to an accumulation of yellow cards.

⚪ LEIPZIG

Despite dropping points, RB is still among the leaders - 32 points and 5th place. They can return to the top three in a few rounds. The team coached by Rose hasn't had a victory for quite some time - in the Bundesliga, their last win was against Werder (4:2). There was also success in the Champions League game against Sporting (2:1). Against top opponents, Leipzig has not fared too well - a draw with Bayer (2:2) and a loss to Stuttgart (1:2). Against Union, there will be an opportunity to play as the leading team. Since Simons has returned, there are no more issues with creativity - on average, Leipzig generates 2.79 goal-scoring chances. They will have to face a layered defense, but the front line is represented by very talented players who realize their potential at the highest level - Openda, Sesko, and Baumgartner are capable of unsettling the capital club. The absence of Henrichs and Schlager is unlikely to be critical - the defense is relatively safe.

⚽️ GOALS PREDICTION

It's hard to call Leipzig prolific; however, even with all their failures, they have 1.79 goals per match. Undoubtedly, Union is a "low-scoring" team, whose average total is 2.31 goals per game. But out of them, 1.47 are conceded. Considering the difference in squad composition and RB's potential dominance in control (51.4%), we anticipate several goals from the 5th Bundesliga team. The Berliners' game system stopped working already in the first round - conceding is unavoidable. Our editorial team is convinced that Simons and company won't disappoint: we play Leipzig's total over 1.5 goals.

🚩 CORNERS PREDICTION

Since the hosts sit back on their half as a whole team, one shouldn't expect many approaches to the opponent's goal from them. But lack of creativity forces simple actions - relying on set pieces. For this reason, Berliners average 4.95 corners per match. Leipzig, on the other hand, is significantly more modest - 3.89. However, the specific nature of the upcoming encounter may give the visitors an opportunity to generate far more set pieces. Especially considering the size of their forwards - crosses can bring a lot of profit. Considering bookmaker odds, we suggest trying a bet on total corners over 8.5.

📝 EDITORIAL PREDICTION

The class difference between these teams is obvious. The Berliners like to play defensively, often disrupting any opponent's tactics. But Leipzig is incredibly motivated - they need to achieve a long-awaited victory and once again fight for medals in the German championship. The selection of players allows for this. The recent setback in the UCL against Sturm (0:1) only spurs RB on further. It's unlikely this will be an open match - Union won't allow it. But the visitors can certainly play for several goals. We believe this confrontation will end with a score of 0:2. As a bet, we suggest choosing Leipzig's win with a handicap (0).