Bundesliga
5 reasons Leipzig can win the Bundesliga
RB Leipzig are level on points with Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich six matches into the 2024/25 campaign. Is this going to be their season?
bundesliga.com has five reasons why Die Roten Bullen can win the title...
1) They've already toppled the champions
Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen set a new gold standard last term by going unbeaten en route to winning a domestic double. After just over a full season without defeat, that remarkable 35-game Bundesliga run was ended on Matchday 2 of 2024/25 - by Leipzig. A highly improbable result, Marco Rose's side hit back from 2-0 down to snap the streak and lay down a serious marker. If Leipzig can beat the unbeatable, they can beat anyone...
Watch: Bayer Leverkusen 2-3 RB Leipzig - highlights
2) They're unbeaten since February
That incredible result forms part of a brilliant 17-match unbeaten sequence in the Bundesliga, dating back to a narrow 2-1 loss to Bayern on 24 February. Leipzig have won 11 times during that run, including four times so far this season. Nine goals scored speaks to their clinical side, while five clean sheets in six is the sort of steely foundation Sir Alex Ferguson was alluding to when he famously said, "Attack wins you games, defence wins you titles."
3) A top scorer in waiting
Paris Saint-Germain loanee Xavi has a habit of taking the plaudits at Leipzig, but it's Löis Openda who's their biggest goal threat. The Belgian struck 24 times across his debut Bundesliga season, finishing third to Serhou Guirassy (28) and Harry Kane (36) in the scoring charts. He's on track to post similar numbers in 2024/25, with four goals to show for his first six outings - including the sensational brace that broke Leverkusen's back on Matchday 2. And let's not forget, top scorer's cannons and Bundesliga winner's medals have a habit of going hand in hand.
Watch: The best of Loïs Openda on Matchdays 1 and 2
4) Perhaps the Bundesliga's deepest squad
Even if Openda isn't firing, Leipzig are always good for goals. Xavi and Benjamin Šeško complete Rose's preferred golden triangle, while the likes of Antonio Nusa, Christoph Baumgartner, Yussuf Poulsen and André Silva are certainly not a Plan B to be scoffed at. In midfield, the Leipzig boss is blessed with options aplenty, from mainstays Amadou Haidara and Nicolas Seiwald to hard-runners like Atlético Madrid-owned Arthur Vermeeren and veteran Kevin Kampl. The defensive ranks, meanwhile, are stacked with A-grade performers, making rotation during those jam-packed weeks juggling domestic and continental fare a doddle.
5) The Klopp factor
Speaking of trump cards, former Mainz, Borussia Dortmund and Liverpool head coach Jürgen Klopp has ended his sabbatical to become Red Bull's Head of Global Soccer, beginning 1 January 2025. In layman's terms, the 57-year-old will lead an international network of teams that includes Leipzig, developing their overall footballing strategy. Once his Ivy League standard of expertise that helped guide Mainz out of Bundesliga 2, Dortmund to back-to-back Bundesliga titles and Liverpool to UEFA Champions League and English Premier League glory begins to filter through at the Red Bull Arena, expect Die Roten Bullen to find a next-level pair of wings.