RB Leipzig to face FC St. Gallen in friendly

Our first friendly of the year has been set!

On Saturday, 6th January (15:00 CET), RB Leipzig will face FC St. Gallen in a friendly from their winter training camp in La Manga, Spain. The match will take place at the La Manga Club Top Ground, and entry will be free of charge.

The match will be live-streamed on our YouTube channel and on rbleipzig.com. Our first competitive match of 2024 will take place a week later, as we host Eintracht Frankfurt at the Red Bull Arena (13th January, 15:30 CET).

A look at our upcoming opponents from St. Gallen

Strong season so far

FC St. Gallen are currently in second place in the Swiss Super League (33 points), behind Young Boys Bern (38).

German head coach

The team also have a German head coach, with Peter Zeidler having been at the club since 2018. He successfully guided the team to the domestic double in 2020. Prior to moving to Switzerland, the 61-year-old enjoyed spells at Red Bull Salzburg, Sochaux and TSG Hoffenheim.

Dangerous duo

Chadrac Akolo (7) and Willem Geubbels (6) are a real threat in front of goal for the side. Akolo’s previous clubs include SC Paderborn and VfB Stuttgart.

Veteran in midfield

Lukas Görtler has been at FC St. Gallen since 2019, and the captain is a key player for the side. The Bamberg native scored nine times last season, and has been pulling the strings in midfield this term (1 goal). Görtler won the Bundesliga with FC Bayern in 2014/15 (1 appearance).

Links to Germany

In addition to head coach Zeidler and captain Görtler, St. Gallen also count a handful of other players to have either German citizenship or have played in Germany in their ranks: Chima Okoroji (stints at SV Sandhausen and Paderborn), Justin Janitzek (FC Bayern München), Bela Dumrath (academy product) and Lukas Watkowiak (Wehen Wiesbaden).