German Bundesliga - RB Leipzig vs. Paderborn - Preview & Prediction

Still fighting for a top-four finish this season, 3rd-placed RB Leipzig welcome bottom-dwelling Paderborn, who sit eight points away from a relegation play-off place. Kick-off - at 9:30 AM ET on Saturday, June 6.

Leipzig Extend Unbeaten Run

RB Leipzig won for the second time in their past three contests (W2 D1) after notching their second consecutive away victory by beating Cologne with a score of 4-2 at RheinEnergieStadion on Monday. Patrik Schick, Christopher Nkuku, Timo Werner, and Dani Olmo all scored for the Red Bulls, with goalkeeper Peter Gulacsi recording his second assist of the season. RB Leipzig have now gone unbeaten for 10 straight games (W4 D6), holding the 3rd position in the league (W16 D10 L3), trailing 2nd placed Borussia Dortmund and 1st-placed Bayern Munich by two and nine points, sitting just two points above Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Monchengladbach.

In-form German forward Werner tops Leipzig’s scoring table with 25 markers, sitting 2nd only to Bayern Munich’s Robert Lewandowski (29 snipes) in the Bundesliga’s goal chart this year. Goalie Gulacsi, meanwhile, is 10th in the league in most saves, having stopped 75 shots in 28 appearances this term. He has posted nine clean sheets and allows a goal every 87 minutes. The Red Bulls are 3rd in most goals netted this season (74), 2nd in most shots delivered per game (16.5) and 4th in both ball possession (54.0%) and passing accuracy (82.5%).

Paderborn Get Walloped By BVB

A three-game run of consecutive draws finally came to an end for rock-bottom Paderborn, who was pummelled with a count of 6-1 by Borussia Dortmund at Benteler-Arena on Sunday. The team from North Rhine-Westphalia prevented BVB from scoring in the first half while coming close to finding the back of the net itself, with Christopher Antwi-Adjei leading his side with three attempts. The wheels fell off, though, in the following frame, as the visitors scored six times in the last 36 minutes of the contest while Dennis Srbeny was robbed of his strike for Paderborn because of an offside call, with Uwe Hunemeier’s penalty ending up being the only goal for the hosts. Currently holding a W4 D7 L18 record, Paderborn sit dead last in the Bundesliga, eight points below the relegation play-off spot and nine points off outright safety.

With five markers to their name, both Srbeny and Streli Mamba lead Paderborn in scoring, while defensive midfielder Klaus Gjasula tops the Bundesliga in yellow cards (15). Goalie Leopold Zingerle, meanwhile, sits 7th in the league with 81 saves. He has collected five clean sheets in 23 starts so far this season, giving up a goal every 47 minutes on average. Paderborn is 3rd in the least goals scored this year (32), 13th in most shots delivered per game (12.3), 14th in ball possession (46.5%), and 10th in passing accuracy (77.6%).

Prediction

RB Leipzig have gone unbeaten for 10 straight contests (W4 D6) and have recorded just one defeat in their last 20 games (W12 D7 L1). The Red Bulls have, however, dropped eight points in their past six fixtures after recording four draws in their previous six matches. So, the team will definitely concentrate on getting all three points from the bottom-dwelling Paderborn, who have just ended a three-game run of consecutive stalemates following a 6-1 fiasco versus Borussia Dortmund over the weekend. An RB Leipzig win, valued at -665, holds little value. So, go with a clean sheet for the favorites here! Especially with opposing Paderborn having scored just three times in their past six fixtures, failing to get on the scoreboard in three of them altogether. A correct score of 5-0 to RB Leipzig also looks tempting, as does another goal from Patrik Schick, who has already banked two goals in his past two appearances.

Best bets:

Correct score: 5-0 to RB Leipzig (+1270)

RB Leipzig clean sheet (+100)

Patrik Schick to score anytime (+105)