RB Leipzig vs Union Berlin

RB Leipzig’s effort to get a stuttering 2024 back on track brings them home as they welcome bottom-half Union Berlin at the Red Bull Arena.

It’s been an embarrassing start to 2024 for Leipzig as a 5-2 humiliation at Stuttgart last time out maintained their losing league streak in the new calendar year to three games. As pressure intensifies on manager Marco Rose, ending the club’s joint-longest losing run in their Bundesliga history is imperative. But their miserable performance at Stuttgart last week implies ‘Die Roten Bullen’ could lose four consecutive top-flight matches for the first time. After a comprehensive 3-0 victory in the reverse fixture, Leipzig could complete their first-ever league double against Union Berlin. However, they’ve succumbed to identical 2-1 defeats in their last two Bundesliga home encounters against Union Berlin. Plus, both their home league contests in 2024 have yielded losses.

Visiting Union Berlin eked out a well-deserved 1-0 home win against Darmstadt last weekend to halt a two-match scoreless start to the new calendar year (D1, L1) and steer five points clear of the relegation zone. Union’s battle to secure Bundesliga survival has made them almost ‘unwatchable, with their three league games in 2024 featuring under 1.5 total goals. As the division’s worst-performing away team, Nenad Bjelica’s men have claimed just four points on their nine top-flight travels this season (W1, D1, L7), averaging only 0.77 goals per game. Indeed, they’re winless in their last eight league games on the road (D1, L7), failing to get on the scoresheet on five successive Bundesliga travels ahead of this trip.