RB Leipzig are off to a horrible start to the season and they will look to put an end to their crisis on Saturday against FC Cologne.
Despite their struggles, Leipzig remain favorites for the matchup with bookmaker 10Bet offering odds at 1.76 for an away win. The odds are at 4.40 for Cologne to win and at 4.00 for the two to play out a draw.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: September 17th, 8:00 A.M. (EST)
The Red Bulls took a 4-1 loss against Bayern Munich last weekend, which means that the club has registered the worst ever start to a Bundesliga campaign. Last year’s runners-up boast only three points after four rounds of play.
The new Champions League campaign started in horrible fashion for Leipzig as well when Manchester City had a field day against them in a 6-3 victory. Christopher Nkuku produced a sensational performance with a hat trick, but City scored within minutes of each of his strikes and the defensive performance was simply unacceptable.
The defensive struggles have almost been inevitable after the club sold center-backs Dayot Upamecano and Ibrahima Konate in the summer. The money was reinvested back into the squad, but most of the signings were clearly made with an eye on the future.
Leipzig will now have to try and tighten things up against a side that has averaged two goals per game through the first few Bundesliga fixtures.
Cologne have had a couple of very disappointing seasons and they narrowly escaped relegation last term, but things are looking very positive for the side early in the year.
Steffen Baumgart’s men were very close to finding themselves inside the top-five with four rounds played but ended up dropping points against Freiburg a week ago through a late Rafael Czichos own goal.
With no clean sheets yet recorded, Baumgart has some work to do on the defensive end. But if he can keep Anthony Modeste scoring then Cologne should have a good chance of finishing as a top-half side.
Modeste didn’t score a single Bundesliga goal last year in eight appearances and also finished goalless in seven Ligue 1 outings for Saint-Etienne, but the 33-year-old Frenchman, who once produced an amazing 25-goal campaign in Germany, seems to have returned to form with three goals in four outings.
The Cannes-born striker disappointed last year, but his overall Bundesliga record for Cologne is solid with 47 goals scored in 107 appearances. Modeste has already netted against Bayern this season and he should be licking his lips after watching Leipzig’s defensive struggles.
