RB Leipzig and Southampton will begin their pre-season preparations with a friendly encounter in Austria on Saturday.
Despite struggling with their form, RB Leipzig managed to seal a top-four finish in the Bundesliga, securing the Champions League football next season. They also managed to win the DFB-Pokal and reached the Europa League semifinals last term.
They will be targeting to clinch more silverware next season and also will want to push Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund for the top two spots in the league. Thus, they have made a couple additions to the squad, with Janis Blaswich and Xaver Schlager arriving from Heracles Almelo and Wolfsburg respectively in attempt to bolster their squad options.
Also, the Red Bulls demonstrated their ambitions by locking down last season’s topscorer Christopher Nkunku to a new contract which runs until 2026.
They will take on Southampton and Liverpool in the preseason before taking on Bayern Munich in the final of the Super Cup on 30th this month.
Meanwhile Southampton had one of their worst ever campaigns in the Premier league last term, with the club finishing 15th in the table, three places and five points above the relegation zone.
A poor form in the second half of the season was a huge part of their disappointments last term, with the side only winning once in their last 13 league matches, picking up just two draws while suffering 10 defeats in the run.
They will be targeting for a top-half finish next season and have shown their ambitions in the transfer market, bringing in the likes of Gavin Bazunu and Romeo Lavia from Man City, while Armel Bella-Kptchap, Joe Aribo and Mateusz Lis have also arrived at St Mary’s this summer.
Leipzig vs Southampton head to head
This will be the first encounter between the sides. Take a look at their previous results;
Home
- Freiburg 2-4 Leipzig
- Bielefeld 1-1 Leipzig
- Leipzig 4-0 Augsburg
- Rangers 3-1 Leipzig
- M’gladbach 3-1 Leipzig
Away
- Leicester 4-1 Southampton
- Southampton 1-2 Liverpool
- Brentford 3-0 Southampton
- Southampton 1-2 Crystal Palace
- Brighton 2-2 Southampton
Leipzig team news
No fresh injury concerns ahead of the clash and are expected to give the majority of the squad playing time.
Southampton team news
Southampton also have no injury reports and are expected to take a look at the majority of their squad on Saturday.
Prediction and odds
- Leipzig win
- Both sides to score
- Goals over 2.5
