Cologne v Leipzig: Bundesliga Monday betting preview, free tips & where to watch

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Cologne v Leipzig in the German Bundesliga.

Where to watch

BT Sport 1, 7.30pm

Best bet

Leipzig to win & under 3.5 goals
1pt 15-8 Betway, BoyleSports

Team news

Cologne
Rafael Czichos (spine) and Marcel Risse (knee) are sidelined while key centre-back Sebastiaan Bornauw will miss out through suspension.

Leipzig
Marcel Halstenberg (suspended), Fabrice Hartmann (cruciate ligament) and Yussuf Poulsen (ankle) will not feature.

Match preview

Home advantage appears to have gone out of the window since the Bundesliga returned without fans in the stand, as RB Leipzig underlined in a 5-0 thrashing of Mainz in their first away game after the restart.

That victory was wedged between draws at home to Freiburg and Hertha Berlin for Julian Nagelsmann's side, who have looked sharper on their travels than at the Red Bull Arena this term.

Indeed they have lost only two of their 14 away matches in this term's Bundesliga and are primed to capitalise on a Cologne side who have lost their magic touch.

The hosts enjoyed a super run of eight wins in 11 matches from mid-December up until football's hiatus but have returned after the break looking like a fledgling Bundesliga side not yet guaranteed safety.

Cologne failed to see off lowly Mainz and Fortuna Dusseldorf outfits in their two home assignments before a 3-1 defeat to Hoffenheim and Leipzig will represent a step-up in quality.

Timo Werner looked back to his best when bagging a hat-trick against Mainz while Patrik Schick was on the scoresheet in the 2-2 draw with Hertha Berlin - a game Leipzig could have won if Marcel Halstenberg had not been sent off after 63 minutes.

The left-back will miss the trip to the Rhein Energie Stadion but Nagelsmann should be fairly confident in a rearguard who have kept four successive away clean sheets against Bayern Munich, Schalke, Wolfsburg and Mainz.

Leipzig have shipped only 13 goals in their 14 away assignments this term and should tame the Billy Goats, who will be missing a key goal threat for this home tie.

Belgian defender Sebastiaan Bornauw has chipped in with five league goals for Cologne this term - only striker Jhon Cordoba (11) has scored more for the club this season - but will miss the game through suspension.

That is not good news for a side who are struggling for form but, like their opponents Leipzig, they have been among the better defensive units in the Bundesliga so can at least limit the damage.

They have kept five clean sheets at the Rhein Energie Stadion in the league this campaign and are expected to sit back and rely on long balls up to Cordoba from the likes of centre back Toni Leistner.

That mentality coupled with the recent defensive displays on the road from Leipzig points to a low-scoring game and the best way to play it could be to back an away win and under 3.5 goals.

Key stat

Three of Leipzig's last five matches have featured under 2.5 goals.

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