Even though it’s only been played since 2016/17, Leipzig vs Dortmund has become a German football headline act after both sides locked out two of the top three league positions in three of the last four seasons.
On one side is the historic Borussia Dortmund, Germany’s second biggest sports club and second most winner of Bundesliga. On the other side is the new order in RB Leipzig, a modern day footballing franchise – part of these mysterious and complex footballing pairings with sister club RB Salzburg of Austria.
The sides meet on Saturday. Here’s five things to look out for.
Further articles:
–Sancho scores his first goal of the season as BVB beat Wolfsburg 2-0: Match report
–Moukoko becomes youngest ever Bundesliga scorer but still Dortmund fall to Union Berlin 2-1: Match report
–Player focus: Goal machine Lewandowski just cannot stop scoring. Look at some of his unbelievable stats over the last 18 months
1. Haaland vs Upamecano
A face-off between two of world football’s biggest future stars.
In the yellow corner 6’4’ 20-year-old Norwegian striker Erling Haaland. In the red and white corner 6’1’ 22-year-old French centre-back Dayot Upamecano.
Both players have been linked with every major club in Europe.
In Haaland you get a physical beast of a striker who has demonstrated a killer instinct for goal as good as any to come before him in Europe. The big Norwegian has 33 goals in 33 games in his Dortmund career and is the fastest ever to reach 15 goals in the Champions League.
Upamecano is fast, physical yet also a skillful centre-back who’s been the platform from which Leipzig have been able to finish no lower than 6th in Bundesliga and reach last season’s Champions League semi-final for the first time in the club’s short history.
2. Yousouffa Moukoko
Became the youngest ever player in Bundesliga against Eintracht Frankfurt on matchday 10. Became the youngest ever goalscorer three games later against Union Berlin in the last match before the winter break. The finish was emphatic. The sort of strike that made the statement I was born to play on this stage.
Moukoko was seen as a prodigy from an early age – he was training with Dortmund’s U17s at 12-years-old and scored 140 goals in 88 games for their U17s and 19s teams. Yes you read that right.
3. Angeliño’s left foot
It’s been quite the winding road for Manchester City loanee Angeliño.
The left winger came through the Manchester City youth team in 2014 and since then has been loaned to four clubs including New York and Girona, bought by PSV, bought back by City, made six appearances for the Blues then was shipped out to RB Leipzig where he’s been a revelation.
His goal and performance to knock Manchester United out the Champions League group stages a month ago was outstanding.
He’s fast, direct and when he gets a chance to cross it, everyone in the box better be ready.
4. Cards
In the last eight encounters between Dortmund and Leipzig there’s been 33 yellow cards and two reds (over four cards a game).
October 2017 was clearly a particularly vexing year with six yellow cards and two reds shown as Dortmund lost at home to Leipzig 3-2.
5. Giant killers
Dortmund are the second largest sports club in Germany with 145,000 members, founded in 1909.
RasenBallsport Leipzig are the pumped up mutated form of little known SSV Markranstädt bought over by Austrian conglomerate Red Bull GmbH.
From that purchase Leipzig obliterated the status quo in German football overtaking the likes of Stuttgart, Weder Bremen and Mönchengladbach – all traditional sports clubs with one hundred plus years of history behind them.
It’s taken Leipzig a decade to go from NOFV-Oberliga (tier 5 of German football) all the way through the ranks to the semi-finals of the European Cup last season. Scary.
RB Leipzig vs Borussia Dortmund, Saturday 9th Jan, KO 530pm GMT.
Harry Jamshid Reporter Sports Pages 