Orban and Gulácsi hoping to re-establish RB Leipzig as German football’s best of the rest

There was a time when RB Leipzig were not only considered to be the best German Bundesliga team after Bayern Munich, but they were also tipped to surpass the perennial champions.

Sadly for them, that ascendance never came to pass: in the meantime, Borussia Dortmund have steadied their ship and Bayer Leverkusen have become Bundesliga champions.

So RB Leipzig have fallen down the pecking order somewhat in German football, but they have a clear philosophy and a talented squad – with Hungarian internationals Willi Orban and Péter Gulácsi at the heart of it.

Red Bull Need Wings

You might think that Leverkusen’s title win during the 2023/24 season would have altered the landscape of the German Bundesliga, but according to the sports betting odds that’s not the case – they’re only +225 second favourites behind Bayern Munich (-450), with Leipzig back at +1100.

The sports betting tips columns will focus on the battle between upstarts Leverkusen and the wounded animal that is Bayern Munich; they won the Bundesliga title for eleven seasons in a row prior to 2023/24, so you suspect they won’t have taken their humbling too kindly.

Leipzig and Dortmund will be desperate not to become a mere afterthought in discussions of the destination of the Bundesliga title this term, and a case can be made for both.

Dortmund, of course, reached the final of the Champions League last season – they could be more of a danger on the domestic front this time around, assuming they don’t have a similar distraction in 2024/25.

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As for Leipzig, Marco Rose has once again overseen a quiet evolution during the off-season, bringing in a host of promising talents. The loss of star man Dani Olmo to Barcelona hurts, but that’s the Leipzig way: buy low, sell high… $55 million in the Spaniard’s case.