Bundesliga 2025/26 Tactical Previews: RB Leipzig

In the eight of our Bundesliga tactical previews to be released here on Get German Football News, we’ll close the book on the non-50+1 clubs. RB Leipzig follow up Bayer 04 Leverkusen. We’ll once again take the team’s opening round Pokal performance into account here. New head-coach Ole Werner’s “Rasenballers” travelled to the Rhein-Neckar region today to take on Sandhausen; one of those BaWü clubs Germans taint a bit with the Hoffenheim stain. The German Red Bulls emerged victorious against the “Sand-men”.

Some noticeably passive play off the ball led to the Saxon guests conceding two first half goals. Overall, however, Werner’s tenure got off to a very strong start. The fact that RB missed out on Europe for the first time since earning promotion to the German top flight clearly lit a fire under the posteriors of Marcel Schäfer and the RB administrative team. The result is a squad absolutely strong enough to carry the Saxons back to Europe. Many have been tipping Werner to struggle in his new appointment based on the fact that he was hired late and Schäfer dragged his feet a bit this offseason. 

An in-depth look at what’s going on here yields a different conclusion. Werner maintains a solid set of tactics far more advanced than one might expect. The personnel Werner’s been accorded to implement his plan possess the tools to make it work. Things should be ticking upwards for this club before to long. Germans – not to mention a pretty sullen Marco Rose – retain their qualms about such a truth. We’ll just all have to get used to it. Shrugs all around. So it goes for the well-financed. 

RasenBallSport Leipzig

As was the case with Leverkusen, the “personnel shifts” section serves less of a purpose here. There’s been so many comings and goings with the German Red Bulls that one really needs to get to the more relevant information of which new arrivals are managing to perform. The RB attack is essentially re-tooled whilst we await news on which attacking players will be leaving this severely over-sized 35-man-roster.

Major personnel shifts, RB Leipzig

Estimated Summer Transfer Balance = -€26.2 million

Two attacking additions in July (Johan Bakayoko and Yan Diomande) counted as huge coups for Schäfer and the RB administrative team. A sluggish start to the offseason from the club’s front office was quickly forgotten. The immediate effectiveness of April signing Ezechiel Banzuzi effectively obliterated all the criticism we were prepared to level at Schäfer and staff. All three actors were able to step in and contribute without delay. More needs to be seen from the likes of Andrija Maksimovic and the freshly acquired Romulo before the same can be said about them.

Benjamin Sesko’s supposedly sensational departure actually constitutes one of the least relevant transfer news pieces of the summer. No one reporting on the Bundesliga cares that the Slovene has left Saxony. He never served as a crucial component to this team. Striker Yussuf Poulsen and back-up keeper Janis Blaswich departing Saxony count as interesting developments for German footballing aficionados. We find the career trajectories of these players interesting. In all likelihood, few others do. Neither was of any importance to the team anyway.

Ilaix Moriba’s quiet departure after four ridiculous years of reporting on the Spanish-Guinean’s sordid state in German football provides some relief. Four loan-outs. Dozens upon dozens of transfer rumor articles. Endless e-mails and DMs from Spanish fans asking what the hell happened, as if we had some sort of easy answer. Thank goodness the 22-year-old is no longer under our purview. Moriba might have been the most exhausting player working in German football

Notes from camp, Leipzig

Two light warm-ups in July saw Leipzig beat ZFC Meuselwitz and FC Toulouse by a combined 10-0 scoreline. Werner debuted his new 4-2-3-1 in the opening friendly. Diomande, Loïs Openda, and Xavi Simons scored goals in the first 3-0 win. Just about everything went right apart from the fact that Johan Bakayoko missed a penalty. Werner’s new-look RB supplied plenty of imperious play whilst noticeably lacking accuracy in the final third. Approach play remained solid. Finishing left much to be desired. This was quickly remedied in the second match.

One got a better look at Werner’s tactics against Toulouse, or at the very least was able to come up with some sort of basic idea of how this complex and nuanced system works. Werner wishes to run a loose 4-1-4-1 that morphs into a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 at times on the charge. In any event, everything clicked quickly in the second friendly. Xaver Schlager set up Openda’s 1-0 in the 17th. Three minutes later, he netted the 2-0 himself. Diomande grabbed a brace in the 7-0 win. Banzuzi also opened up his (unofficial) RB account.

Only Openda managed to register a tally in the third test fixture, a 1-2 loss against Atalanta Bergamo in the first friendly to be played at the Red Bull Arena. This result can easily be chalked off as aberrant and irrelevant. The team clearly found themselves plagued by distraction with all the outgoing transfer rumors swirling around the club. The same logic applies to the split-decision in the double-header against Lens that wrapped up the pre-season. Werner mixed up the supposed “A-squad” and “B-squad” so much in the twin-bill that gleaning any valuable lessons proved impossible.

Winners from camp, Leipzig

Yan Diomande, CM

Can it really be true that this Cote d’Ivoire youth international is only 18-years-of-age? And that he only made his professional debut last March? What Diomande has been able to accomplish in the pre-season and the Pokal is frankly ridiculous. He’s also supposedly a natural left-winger. The hell? How has he been able to seamlessly slot in on the right? Apart from the fact that he’s reportedly right-footed, none of this makes any sense.

Diomande has managed to outshine his fellow new addition Bakayoko. A €1.5m-valued player the Saxons were prepared to invest €20m in. In hindsight, at least that makes sense. The lowest-value attacker on the RB roster gets set for a monster season. Remember the name, and don’t go confusing him with the bang average defender Union Berlin are angling for.

Ezechiel Banzuzi, CM

Another name to make a note of. Another player whom Leipzig have overpaid, albeit more slightly, for. Having watched Banzuzi make his mark in the test fixtures and Pokal, it’s actually still difficult to place him positionally. Werner tends to use the supposed defensive midfielder much higher up off the bench. Whether the 20-year-old is a six or an eight remains a mystery. Perhaps it doesn’t really matter for a player so young with total box-to-box potential.

In principle, Banzuzi is supposed to be the type of player Leipzig hoped Ilaix Moriba would develop into. Second time appears to prove the charm here as the tall and technically gifted midfielder is off to a great start. The Holland youth international was apparently referred to as the “Dutch Paul Pogba” back at his old Belgian club. Cool. Readers can feel free to insert their own sarcastic reference here.

Xaver Schlager, CM

The Austrian with one of the coolest names in German football returns from the third major injury of his Bundesliga career prepared to make a big impact as the team’s new vice-captain. Schlager honestly always got less respect than he deserved in German football due to the fact that his entire career has been spent playing for company clubs. The author will accord some respect to the bulky ÖFB man here after a great training camp.

Ridle Baku, RB

The author thinks it’s happening for this German fan-favorite. Baku appears to have edged out returning loanee Kosta Nedeljkovic for the starting right-back role. The squad’s strength up the right flank helps out Baku – who isn’t the attacking force he used to be – out immensely. Like Schlager, Baku has mostly been a company club man throughout his career. Germans like the Mainz-native – named after one of our famous strikers – anyway.

Nicolas Seiwald, RB

Tough to tell if Seiwald has indeed beaten Arthur Vermeeren out for the starting midfield pincer role. It’s a very tight contest. The author thinks that the 24-year-old (who still looks like he’s 12) retains the edge. Seiwald works better deep as a pseudo-sweeper. Some of his center back deployments from last season clearly taught him a lot.

Losers from camp, Leipzig

Amadou Haidara, CM

It’s probably finally time to say goodbye to the Malian international. Something of a sad occasion. Haidara remained in German football over the years despite a plethora of outgoing transfer rumors. Now there’s absolutely no room for him anymore. How refreshing it shall be to see him work for a non-company club for a change. Farewell and thanks for all the memories.

Antonio Nusa, CM

Very quiet pre-season from the Norwegian. After watching him tail off last season, one wonders what’s up with Nusa. Note that this case can still turn on a dime. Should Xavi Simons (as expected) depart, the 20-year-old will receive another chance on the left-hand-side of the third attacking axis. Working in Xavi’s stead might end up helping the young talent rejuvenate his Bundesliga career.

Assan Ouédraogo, CM

The highly touted, and heavily recruited, former Schalke man actually turned a few heads in the pre-season friendlies. There still doesn’t appear to be enough room for him on the wings and a loan out serves as a better option. Rouven Schröder is probably already blowing up Schäfer’s phone trying to get Ouédraogo over to Salzburg for the year. There might not be a more obvious impending transfer in the whole league.

Maarten Vandevoort, GK

Yep. Thanks for playing. Nothing like losing a training camp battle to a 35-year-old. The Belgian youth international must simply wait his turn. One senses that a talent who once featured in the Champions League at the age of 17 may not be conditioned to be so patient. Genk’s former No. 1 must prepare for another season on the bench.

Tactical Scout, Leipzig

In easily the most entertaining of the Saturday 15:30 Pokal kickoffs, the German Red Bulls and recently relegated fourth-tier side SV Sandhausen traded four first-half goals. On a personal level, this author will reveal that this happened to be the very first time watching Sandhausen ever proved entertaining. Diomande quickly ensured that Leipzig equalized after a surprise 3rd-minute 1-0 from the hosts.

The underdogs went back in front in the 18th. German-Hungarian-Lautern “power beast” Willi Orban restored parity with a fine finish of a Simons’ free-kick in the 23rd. A nice little blitz at both ends after the restart was followed up by flat football until both teams woke up around the hour-mark. Leipzig secured a fully deserved 4-2 victory behind goals from Xavi and substitute Banzuzi near the end.

Lineup—Leipzig (DFB Pokal)

A fairly dominant performance from this set-up also produced a narrowly disallowed Openda goal and a load of unconverted chances from Xavi. SV keeper Arthur Lyska ensured that the Saxon guests didn’t run away with this one early. Werner’s squad worked hard and more often than not hit the right gaps whenever the opponent was lying deep. We’ll probably see RB line up in a similar fashion against the defending Bundesliga champs in a weeks’ time.

Lineup—Leipzig (Projected)

Nusa moves down to make room for Bakayoko. That’s about it. Maybe Vermeeren or Nedeljkovic take over for Seiwald or Baku. It depends on Werner’s assessment of the FCB positional battles. It nevertheless seems as if the new RB trainer has his preferred XI and keeping the personnel together for the purpose of holding, rather than beating, Bayern likely works as the better tack. 

GGFN | Peter Weis