14 reasons why RB Leipzig can defend their title

RB Leipzig celebrated its 14th birthday on 19th May 2023. Two weeks later, they can give themselves a belated birthday gift with a win in the DFB-Pokal final. Therefore, we’ve looked at 14 reasons why RB Leipzig can defeat Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday evening and defend their DFB-Pokal title.

1. We know the Olympiastadion

Not only did RB Leipzig win the DFB-Pokal final at the Olympic Stadium last year, but they’ve also won all seven Bundesliga away games at the stadium against Hertha BSC. Across all games, they’ve scored 27 goals; an average of 3.8 per game.

2. Frankfurt find it difficult in Berlin

Our oppositions don’t usually have such a good time in the capital. From 38 games against Hertha at the Olympic Stadium, Eintracht have only won eleven.

3. The trend is our friend

Both teams ended the season by qualifying for European competition, but RBL have been the much better side in 2023. Leipzig picked up two more points in the second half of the season (34) than in the first half (32) and were the third-best performing side in the second half of the campaign. Meanwhile, despite picking up 31 points from their opening 17 games, Frankfurt only picked up 19 in the second half of the season, ranking them 12th in the league.

4. Impressive form

RBL is the only side to win all of their final five Bundesliga games of the season. We’re going into the cup final in good form and will look to sign off the season on a high.

RB Leipzig are in the DFB-Pokal final!

All the info on RBL’s DFB-Pokal final

5. The poor run against Frankfurt is over

Frankfurt were RB Leipzig’s bogey team for a while, but that ended on Bundesliga matchday 22 – the most recent meeting between the two sides. Before that, RBL had failed to beat Frankfurt in any of the previous seven meetings. However, goals from Timo Werner and Emil Forsberg secured a 2-1 win in February.

6. Christopher Nkunku

Christopher Nkunku has proved on several occasions this season that he can make the difference. Despite only playing 25 Bundesliga games due to injury this season, the forward scored a brace against Schalke on matchday 34 to level Werder’s Niclas Füllkrug for goals scored and win the top goalscorer award alongside the German striker. Across all competitions, Nkunku has recorded 30 goal involvements this season (22 goals, 8 assists) in 35 games.

7. The route to the final

RB Leipzig’s DFB-Pokal season so far has been very impressive. Five wins from five games have seen 22 goals scored and just two conceded, while Bundesliga runners up Borussia Dortmund (2-0) and last year’s DFB-Pokal finalists SC Freiburg (5-1) were both defeated. Frankfurt, meanwhile, edged past VfB Stuttgart 3-2 in the semifinal and have a goal difference of 15-4.

8. Marco Rose is a top-performing coach

Since Marco Rose took over at RB Leipzig, no other club in the Bundesliga has picked up more points than RBL (61). Our head coach is statistically among the best in the business this season and is coming up against a familiar face in the cup final…

9. Rose knows Glasner

Marco Rose and Oliver Glasner have gone head-to-head 15 times on the sideline, with Rose enjoying the better record, with eight wins. Glasner has been able to win two games, with the other five meetings ending in a draw.

10. A new record this season

For the first time in club history, RB Leipzig have won 13 league games at home. Fans can take this as motivation for Saturday’s game at a neutral venue – let’s make it a home game!

11. More final experience

In Péter Gulácsi, Marcel Halstenberg, Mohamed Simakan, Lukas Klostermann, Willi Orbán, Benjamin Henrichs, Kevin Kampl, Amadou Haidara, Konrad Laimer, Dani Olmo, Christopher Nkunku, Emil Forsberg, Dominik Szoboszlai, André Silva, Yussuf Poulsen and the suspended Josko Gvardiol, 16 players from the current RBL squad have played in at least one DFB-Pokal final in their career.

For Frankfurt, only Makoto Hasebe, Timothy Chandler and Mario Götze have played in a DFB-Pokal final. Lucas Alario, Sebastian Rode and Ansgar Knauff have all been involved in cup-final squads, but have made an appearance.

12. Mr. DFB-Pokal

Yussuf Poulsen (30 games) is second in the list of players with the most DFB-Pokal appearances across the two squads, behind Frankfurt’s Makoto Hasebe (32). More importantly, however, Poulsen has the most goal involvements in the competition of all RBL and SGE players with 27 involvements (12 goals, 15 assissts) in his 30 games.

13. Goal threats across the pitch

RB Leipzig are not reliant on just a strong attack for their goals. 18 different players have been on the scoresheet for RBL this season in the Bundesliga – more than any other side (Leverkusen and Dortmund follow on 17). Frankfurt had 14 different scorers in the league.

14. Stronger in attack and defence

The old saying goes that “attack wins games, defence wins championships.” In both areas, RBL have stronger statistics than Saturday’s opponents. Both teams have played 48 competitive games this season, but RBL have scored 103 goals to Frankfurt’s 80, and conceded 65 goals to Frankfurt’s 71.