Value on dominant Bayern in Super Cup
RB Leipzig take on Bayern Munich in the German Super Cup on Saturday evening, after a dramatic DFB Pokal triumph over Freiburg at the back end of last season.
The Red Bulls made positive strides last season, and they made the semi final stage of the Europa League, after Domenico Tedesco replaced Jesse Marsch in the dugout, and they will be optimistic about challenging the Bavarians for the Bundesliga title after the departure of Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona.
Julien Nagelsmann’s side are comfortable favourites to win the league title again and they will be hoping to assert their authority to win a sixth Super Cup in seven seasons.
Background
It is going to be interesting to see how Bayern cope without Lewandowski, the club have had some mouth-watering talent in wide areas in recent years, but the Polish striker’s relentless consistency at the top of the pitch has made them far more ruthless and intimidating.
Sadio Mane is a very exciting pick-up from Liverpool, and value in the market at that, the Senagalese versatile forward is capable of playing centrally, and the output from wide players will need to improve for Bayern to hit the heights that they did with Lewandowski playing through the centre.
Omar Richards has also left the club for Nottingham Forest, decreasing the depth in the squad in the left back position.
Noussair Mazraoui, Ryan Gravenberch, Matthijs de Ligt and Mathys Tel are all very exciting young players to add into the squad, and in that recruitment there will be very few concerns over whether they can retain their title.
The addition of Mazraoui feels particularly important, freeing up Joshua Kimmich to play in midfield more often and adding a serious attacking threat down the right.
Janis Blaswich and Xaver Schlager have come in at Leipzig, with the latter putting together a string of impressive seasons for Wolfsburg.
The Red Bulls have lost Nordi Mukiele to Paris Saint-Germain and Tyler Adams to Leeds United, but their sustainable model should enable them to continue building under Tedesco.
The market has given a lot of respect to Leipzig, potentially with the match possibly going beyond 90 minutes, but with Bayern more than ready to hit the ground running after getting their business done fairly early this summer, there may be a smidgeon of value in their outright price.
Post bet chat Marcus's Tips:
5-3 Bayern.