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RB Leipzig vs Fortuna Dusseldorf Odds & Preview Bundesliga Round 32

Paul Attfield

by Paul Attfield in Soccer News

Updated Jun 16, 2020 · 10:50 AM PDT

Timo Werner
Timo Werner has 25 goals in the Bundesliga and 31 goals in all competitions this season for RB Leipzig. By Steffen Prößdorf (Wiki Commons)
  • Third-placed RB Leipzig play host to Fortuna Dusseldorf on Wednesday and will be seeking all three points to aid in their quest to qualify for next season’s Champions League
  • At the other end of the table, 16th-placed Dusseldorf badly need the win to help it pull away from the relegation zone
  • See the odds, analysis and best bet for Wednesday’s clash below

Two teams with very different designs on the remainder of the 2019-20 season will meet in Leipzig on Wednesday at 2:30 pm EST on Matchday 32. For the host RB Leipzig, with just six points separating them and fifth-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach, they will have designs on all three points to help further their aim to secure Champions League soccer next season, as well as potentially helping them catch second-placed Borussia Dortmund, four points in front.

For the visitors, Fortuna Dusseldorf, the points are sorely needed in their mission to stay up in the Bundesliga for next season and avoid either automatic relegation or the possibility of falling into the relegation playoff. Currently level with Werder Bremen on 28 points, Fortuna trail 15th-place Mainz and Bundesliga safety by three points.

RB Leipzig vs Fortuna Dusseldorf Odds

Team Spread Win Total
RB Leipzig -1.5, -2 (-120) -425 O 3.5 (EVEN)
Fortuna Dusseldorf +1.5, +2 (EVEN) +1000 U 3.5 (-120)
Draw N/A +500 N/A

Odds taken June 16

Timo Timebomb?

The remainder of Leipzig’s season may hinge on forward Timo Werner’s state of mind. With 25 league goals, the German national team regular has scored almost one-third of the team’s 77 goals in the top flight. Only one other player has registered double-figures in league goals for the team – Patrik Schick with 10.

However, with a big-money move to England’s Chelsea fast approaching this summer in time for next season, Werner has told Leipzig he does not intend to play for them in the remainder of this year’s Champions League, set to wrap up with a condensed tournament in Lisbon in August. Leipzig eliminated last year’s finalists, Tottenham Hotspur, in the last 16 before the pandemic-enforced sporting hiatus took effect.

Werner wants to join Chelsea once this season’s Bundesliga wraps up on late June 27, but whether Leipzig will sanction that move in that timeline, allowing him to miss the Champions League tournament, remains to be seen.

Firing on All Cylinders

Controversy aside, Leipzig has been a team on a mission this season, just their fourth in the German top flight. Their last loss was away to Eintracht Frankfurt in the German Cup back on February 4, with the same team handing them their last Bundesliga loss ten days earlier on Matchday 19.

Playing at home at Red Bull Arena, the team has been almost perfect, with Schalke being the only team to take all three points from the venue, back in late September.

RB Leipzig vs Fortuna Dusseldorf Key Stats

RB Leipzig
VS
Fortuna Dusseldorf
17-11-3 WIn/Draw/Loss Record 6-10-15
3rd Position in Bundesliga 16th
77 Goals For 33
32 Goals Against 61
55 Average Possession 45.3
16 Shots Per Game 12.2
6.1 Shots On Target Per Game 3.5

All to Play For

With his club teetering on the precipice of the drop zone, Uwe Rosler’s Fortuna side will be hoping for a better outcome than the 3-0 defeat it suffered against Leipzig in the first fixture back in December. That time out, Leipzig dominated play, registering 21 shots to Fortuna’s four.

YouTube video

However, since Rosler’s appointment as manager 12 games ago, Dusseldorf have proven harder to beat, even if wins have been hard to come by, with the team earning two wins, three losses and seven draws over that time.

Bright Spot

While Erling Haaland’s last-gasp header in Matchday 31 proved a heartbreaker for Dusseldorf against Borussia Dortmund, their own main man up top, Rouwen Hennings has quietly put together an outstanding season of his own. His 14 league goals trail only Robert Lewandowski’s 30, Werner’s 25 and Jadon Sancho’s 17 among all scorers this year.

However, though they will undoubtedly need some more moments of magic from the 32-year-old striker to get a result at Red Bull Arena, their recent record against the top five has not been great. Dusseldorf have not earned a single point in their last nine games against the current quintet at the top of the Bundesliga, conceding 30 times over that span.

Pick: RB Leipzig -1.5, -2 (-120)

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