•However, having scored the opener in three straight La Liga games, Osasuna will still hold out hope that they can cause their illustrious opponents some problems here.
• Genoa’s 2-1 loss at Sassuolo marked their seventh defeat in 11 Serie ‘A’ rounds, and the Ligurian outfit remains stuck in the bottom three.
Image: /REUTERS
RB Leipzig vs Dortmund Saturday 8:30pm
A 1-0 win last weekend made it eight consecutive Bundesliga games unbeaten for RB Leipzig, and four straight with a clean sheet, as they keep the pressure on league leaders Bayern Munich. Their previous match was a historical landmark too, as it marked Leipzig’s 150th top-flight fixture, and with 81 wins during that period, no team has secured a better Bundesliga record after 150 games.
The Bundesliga’s best home team will now try and get one over Dortmund after the visitors won the last two head-to-heads held here, ‘to nil’. The previous meeting was also the last home league game in which Leipzig lost, and the last in which they trailed at half time, although the seven Bundesliga home matches since have seen Leipzig secure five half time/full time wins, and concede the opener only once.
Although six points behind Leipzig, Dortmund travel here buoyed by a 2-0 win last time out that not only saw them score over 1.5 goals for just the second time across their last six Bundesliga matches but also featured star striker Erling Haaland return to the starting line-up.
However, despite those positives, this game could still start slowly as Dortmund’s last four Bundesliga fixtures have been level at half time. Dortmund are one of only three clubs yet to lead at half time in a Bundesliga away game. Expect them to threaten after the break though, which is when they’ve scored 11 of their 12 away league goals.
Head to Head
20/06/20 BUN RB Leipzig Dortmund 0 : 2
17/12/19 BUN Dortmund RB Leipzig 3 : 3
19/01/19 BUN RB Leipzig Dortmund 0 : 1
26/08/18 BUN Dortmund RB Leipzig 4 : 1
03/03/18 BUN RB Leipzig Dortmund 1 : 1
Osasuna vs Real Madrid Saturday 11 pm
Osasuna’s ten-game winless La Liga streak — the division’s current joint-worst run — has them looking like prime relegation candidates, and appears set to continue as they take on a resurgent Real Madrid that have won the last seven competitive head-to-heads despite a -1 handicap. However, having scored the opener in three straight La Liga games, Osasuna will still hold out hope that they can cause their illustrious opponents some problems here.
A five-game winless run at home is worrying though, as is their average of just one goal scored per home league game this term. That’s especially so as Osasuna have conceded 2+ goals in four straight home head-to-heads, although this season they have managed to limit their opponents on the day to one goal or less in 50 per cent of their La Liga home fixtures.
Madrid look title hungry and six wins from their last seven La Liga games has them catching up with early league-leaders and city-rivals Atlético. A 2-0 win over Celta Vigo last time out means they’ve now won despite a -1 handicap in eight of their previous nine LL victories, whilst their average of just 0.43 goals conceded per La Liga fixture since the start of December is a vast improvement on the 1.2 average they registered prior.
Madrid have just one clean sheet across their last six La Liga away fixtures Winning three, drawing two, losing one, however impressively, they remain the only side yet to concede an opening goal on the road this La Liga campaign.
Head to head
09/02/20 LL Osasuna Real Madrid 1: 4
25/09/19 LL Real Madrid Osasuna 2 : 0
11/02/17 LL Osasuna Real Madrid 1 : 3
10/09/16 LL Real Madrid Osasuna 5: 2
26/04/14 LL Real Madrid Osasuna 4 : 0
Genoa vs Bologna Saturday 8 pm
Genoa’s 2-1 loss at Sassuolo marked their seventh defeat in 11 Serie ‘A’ rounds, and the Ligurian outfit remains stuck in the bottom three. Either way, goals might be the theme here, as seven of their previous eight league matches have featured both teams scoring, with five producing over 2.5 match goals.
At home, Genoa are winless in the league since the opening round, but their recent draws against Milan and Lazio — which they entered as betting outsiders — give them some hope. However, their loss rate as home league outsiders this term stands at 60 per cent — the joint-second worst amongst teams to have entered 5+ Serie ‘A’ home games as underdogs.
Bologna have drawn five consecutive Serie ‘A’ matches for the first since April 2013. Consequently, six of their last seven league fixtures have witnessed both teams hit the net, with Bologna scoring the opener just in the last match.
Even though 87.5 per cent of Bologna’s eight Serie ‘A’ away matches have produced over 9.5 corners, the visitors have scored just once before the break on the road this season. So too are they the only team yet to find the net in the opening 30 minutes of away league matches. Unsurprisingly, they are yet to lead at half time in those matches.
Head to Head
15/02/20 SA Bologna Genoa 0 : 3
25/09/19 SA Genoa Bologna 0 : 0
10/02/19 SA Bologna Genoa 1: 1
16/09/18 SA Genoa Bologna 1 : 0
24/02/18 SA Bologna Genoa 2 : 0