Preview: RB Leipzig vs. Werder Bremen - prediction, team news, lineups

The visitors, meanwhile, may still require one victory from their final three matches to be mathematically assured of their survival.

Match preview

After suffering a shock 3-0 defeat at home to Mainz 05 in their first match back from March's international break, Leipzig have bounced back to record six wins from their last seven games in all competitions.

That impressive run of form has seen Marco Rose's side cement their status within the Champions League qualification chasing pack, with successive victories against Freiburg seeing them climb back above Christian Streich's side in the table as well as progress to their second consecutive DFB-Pokal final.

Indeed, after beating Freiburg in last season's showpiece event of German football, Rose will have the chance to follow in his predecessor Domenico Tedesco's footsteps by dispatching Eintracht Frankfurt in next month's final.

In the meantime, though, Rose and his players will be keen to continue their excellent form in the Bundesliga, with a trip to Bayern Munich next weekend massively increasing the pressure on them to deliver maximum points from home matches against Werder Bremen and Schalke 04 in order to hold off the threat of Christian Streich's side as well as Union Berlin.

Werder Bremen, meanwhile, have been playing without any real pressure on their shoulders for some time after blitzing the early part of the season, and essentially achieving their main objective for the campaign: survival.

Ole Werner's side have clearly dipped across recent months, collecting only five points from their last nine matches, although the fact that they have scored in each of their last 10 league games illustrates the entertainment they have provided their fans and neutrals alike with this season.

Die Werderaner made the league leaders Bayern Munich sweat to earn all three points last weekend, with goals from Serge Gnabry and Leroy Sane after the hour mark ultimately rendering Niklas Schmidt's late strike little more than a consolation effort.

In theory, while Stuttgart and VfL Bochum can both still catch Werder Bremen given that they are seven points behind with nine points still to play for, Werder Bremen have richly deserved another campaign in the Bundesliga following their promotion last season, and they will almost certainly receive the chance to do so regardless of their next three results.

RB Leipzig Bundesliga form:

L

W

W

L

W

W

RB Leipzig form (all competitions):

W

W

L

W

W

W

Werder Bremen Bundesliga form:

L

D

L

W

L

L

Team News

Leipzig will remain without Josko Gvardiol due to a muscle injury, with the Croatia international facing a race against time to return to full fitness in time for next month's DFB-Pokal final.

Rose may bring David Raum back into the fold in order to provide more natural balance at left-back, but otherwise he is unlikely to make many alterations to his starting XI after securing a hugely important victory against Freiburg last time out.

Peter Gulasci remains sidelined for the rest of the campaign due to a serious knee issue.

Werder Bremen, meanwhile, will remain without their top goalscorer Niclas Fullkrug due to a muscle injury, with the Germany forward unlikely to be risked again this season unless his side's relegation fears massively increase towards the final day.

Felix Agu and Dikeni Salifou are also both unlikely to feature again this season, but Amos Pieper has a chance of recovering after being withdrawn against Bayern due to a knock.

RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:

Blaswich; Henrichs, Simakan, Orban, Raum; Laimer, Haidara; Szoboszlai, Olmo; Werner, Nkunku

Werder Bremen possible starting lineup:

Pavlenka; Veljkovic, Stark, Friedl; Weiser, Bittencourt, Gross, Stage, Jung; Philipp, Ducksch

We say: RB Leipzig 3-1 Werder Bremen

While Werder Bremen have continued to score goals on an extremely consistent basis, their defensive unit has looked far from watertight all season, and we expect Leipzig to punish them on Sunday.

The hosts can not afford to drop any points in their last two home matches against bottom-half teams with a tough test against Bayern sandwiched in between, and we do not expect them to do so as they chase down Champions League qualification.

Previews by email