5 reasons why Leipzig will beat Juventus

bundesliga.com pinpoints five reasons why Marco Rose’s men can down the Italian giants at the Red Bull Arena.

1) You shall not pass!

Leipzig have conceded just two goals in their four Bundesliga matches so far this season, and both of those came in a win over champions Bayer Leverkusen, meaning they have three clean sheets to boast. That’s the best record in the Bundesliga, and only two teams in Europe’s top five leagues have conceded fewer, Liverpool and Juventus themselves. However, Thiago Motta’s men have failed to score on three occasions this season, suggesting Leipzig may well have the better balance with their rock-solid defence.

2) Fort Sax

Leipzig’s opening defeat was away at Atleti’s Cívitas Metropolitano, but for this match they’ll be back in Saxony at the Red Bull Arena. There, they’ve been in sublime form, experiencing only four defeats last season. Even then they were matches against Europe’s best in Leverkusen, Real Madrid, Manchester City and Eintracht Frankfurt.

All in all they’ve played 23 matches at the Red Bull Arena since the start of last season and boast an impressive record of 14 wins, five draws and four defeats. Juve will have to be at their very best to join the list of teams to depart with a win.

3) Streak? What streak?

Juve may well be unbeaten under new head coach Motta, but breaking those runs is nothing new for Leipzig. Rose’s side faced a far more daunting task when they travelled to the BayArena on Matchday 2 in the Bundesliga, but then they shocked Europe.

Taking on a Leverkusen side who were unbeaten in 43 games, covering all of last season and a domestic double, Leipzig became the first German team to beat Xabi Alonso's men in over a year. Finding themselves 2-0 down, Kevin Kampl pulled one back before half-time and then a Loïs Openda double produced a win for the ages. Juve have been warned.

Watch: Leipzig end Leverkusen's unbeaten streak

4) Hungary for more

Having played just 19 games over the past two seasons due to injuries, it looked like the career of Leipzig stalwart Péter Gulácsi may be coming to an end. Things looked particularly bleak for the 34-year-old Hungarian when the club brought in highly-rated shot-stopper Maarten Vandevoordt, a man they were so keen on they signed him two years before his arrival.

However, as ever, Gulacsi endured. He’s returned in remarkable form this season, with his display in Atleti featuring two wonder saves worthy of any highlight reel. The stats back him up too, in addition to his three clean sheets in the league, he has a 90 percent save percentage, while only Mainz’s Robin Zentner (19) has stopped more shots than his 18. With a number of Juve’s forwards drawing blanks so far this season, their task may well be even more difficult than usual.

Watch: Leipzig's Red Bulls set for UCL charge

5) Open-da for business

Despite scoring over 20 goals with Vitesse and Lens in each of his last two seasons before joining Leipzig, there were some fears that Openda’s stunning debut campaign may be unsustainable. The Belgium international managed a whopping 28 goals in 44 games in all competitions, and proved to be an unstoppable pressing machine and non-stop headache for opposing defenders. Despite his heroics, the 24-year-old faced a frustrating summer as he was left as Romelu Lukaku’s backup for his country at Euro 2024, but he clearly channelled that disappointment into the new campaign.

Watch: All of Loïs Openda's Bundesliga goals so far

Openda has two goals already in four games, and has an even more impressive supporting cast around him than last season. Benjamin Šeško continues to step up, as he did with his goal against Atleti, while new signing Antonio Nusa looks deadly off the bench. Juve will have to spread their resources well, or risk getting stung.