Wolfsburg vs RB Leipzig prediction: GERMANY: Bundesliga betting tips on match 2023-02-17 14:30.
Wolfsburg boss Niko Kovač demanded an immediate improvement from his players after branding their first half display against Schalke in the last round as “the worst we have played this season.” The manager was left furious by his side’s failure to break down the Bundesliga’s bottom-placed club, managing just two shots on target during a 0-0 draw that extended their winless run to four matches in all competitions (D1, L3).
Two of those losses have come in the Bundesliga, meaning the Wolves have lost important ground in the race for a place in European competition next season. Recent history suggests that they are unlikely to bounce back to form against visitors RB Leipzig, whom they have beaten just once from 11 attempts since 2018 (D4, L6), conceding at least two goals on seven occasions.
Marco Rose’s side arrive at the Volkswagen Arena under a bit of pressure themselves, having slipped seven points below league leaders Bayern Munich with a damaging 2-1 defeat to second-placed Union Berlin last weekend. Rose admitted his side “lacked that final touch” when failing to make their 64% possession count, adding further worry to the aftermath of a 0-0 draw with Cologne in the prior game.
The Red Bulls will hope a return to the road can end that two-match winless streak, as there have been no such concerns over their attacking prowess on their travels, where they scored 21 times across an eight-match unbeaten streak across all competitions (W5, D3). But to their concern, Leipzig have actually lost three of their four away league matches (W1) against teams in the top-ten positions going into this round – a record that will need correcting in order to reignite their title challenge.
Key battle: Wolfsburg defender Ridle Baku is their top Bundesliga marksman with five strikes this season, helping his team to win each of his five goalscoring appearances. At the other end of the pitch, he will be attempting to thwart Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku, who has won six of his last ten goalscoring league appearances for his club, including when grabbing both goals in a 2-0 victory over the Wolves back in August.
Hot stat: Wolfsburg’s home Bundesliga games this season have averaged 4.11 goals per match, the highest total in the division leading into this round.