After four unsuccessful attempts, RB Leipzig finally want to take something from their fifth competitive meeting with FC Bayern on Sunday (18:00 CET). “I have four wishes: to end the game with the same number of players on the pitch; not concede any goals; somehow score one; then immediately blow for full time,” said Leipzig coach Ralph Hasenhüttl two days before their home game against the Bundesliga leaders.
Their record against FCB up to this point reads four defeats, eight goals scored and 15 conceded. However, the Saxony side have ended three of those four games with ten men. In the reverse fixture this season it was centre-back Willi Orban who saw red, and Bayern won 2-0. Three days prior to that, Naby Keita had been sent off in their DFB Cup clash before Bayern won 5-4 on penalties.
12th man
Jupp Heynckes’ side have “virtually no weaknesses,” according to Hasenhüttl. “But at home it’s not a foregone conclusion.” After reaching the quarter-finals of the Europa League on Thursday, where they’ll face Olympique Marseille, it’s primarily about being mentally fit on Sunday. “It’s good that we’ve got Bayern straight away. It’s easy to get ourselves up for that. The players will be at their physical limit regardless. I’m promising a fiery game.”
Hasenhüttl has almost a full squad to pick from for Sunday’s big game. Marcel Sabitzer, who missed Thursday’s Europa League game at Zenit because of back problems, could return.
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