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Rose aiming to finish turbulent week with first away win
RB Leipzig are the team of the moment right now. They have won four consecutive Champions League games by a combined scoreline of 12-3 – including an impressive 3-2 victory over Real Madrid – and are on a five-game unbeaten run in the Bundesliga. Impressive stats from Hoffenheim's table neighbours (sixth place), which are only overshadowed slightly by their away record: Leipzig are winless in eight league games on the road, with not one triumph in another Bundesliga stadium since Marco Rose took over the coaching reins. But the most recent away results – 3-3 in Augsburg and 1-1 in Mainz – should not disguise the fact that Leipzig are very much in form ahead of their trip to Sinsheim. Coach Marco Rose sees the match away to TSG much more as an opportunity to bring the discussion about results on the road to an end – and to extend the positive runs. "We have not yet suffered an away defeat under my leadership; RB's last came in September. But it's also correct that I haven't yet won a Bundesliga away game as the Leipzig coach; that will be the objective on Saturday. We want to put this matter to bed and rise up the table; those are worthy objectives."
However, the coach has great respect for TSG – as he emphasised in his press conference on Friday: "This is a club that has been stable and well run for years and always possesses great individual quality in the squad. Alexander Rosen is doing an outstanding job. Their footballing approach is more vertical this season; they play towards the opposition goal faster. In addition, they have excellent footballers in their ranks. Andrej Kramarić is also back – an outstanding player. We'll need to show a top performance and a lot of energy. They play with a three-man defence, so there are a few tasks for us to try to solve."
Apart from Timo Werner, who sustained an injury to his syndesmosis ligament in the 4-0 win against Shakhtar and will miss both the remaining Bundesliga games this year plus the World Cup, Rose can count on all of his attacking strength. Christopher Nkunku currently tops the Bundesliga scoring charts with nine goals, while Dominik Szoboszlai notched four assists in October – also a league high. Another player who will be involved in the Kraichgau is David Raum, who moved from RB to TSG in the summer. "We're delighted he's with us and are looking forward to the future with him once he's 100% integrated. He's a top player, and it's both correct and important to count on him at the World Cup too," said Rose, who also had words of praise for Angeliño, who is on loan at Hoffenheim from Leipzig. "We're not currently in contact, but he's an outstanding player whom we speak about internally. He has demonstrated that he too is a top player and we'll try to defend against him on Saturday. We'll see what the future brings. As a coach, I always like working with outstanding footballers in my squad."
There has also been important news off the pitch this week. The club announced on Friday that Oliver Mintzlaff will step down from his positions as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board at RB Leipzig on 15 November 2022: "This step comes as the result of his new responsibilities as CEO of Corporate Projects & Investments at Red Bull. The management of RB Leipzig GmbH will be taken on by managing directors Florian Hopp and Johann Plenge until further notice. As previously announced, Max Eberl will assume the role of sporting director in December 2022 and will be responsible for the entire sporting department in this position."
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