Leeds United vs RB Leipzig
Leeds United are ramping up their preseason preparations ahead of the 2026-27 campaign, as they’ll face another top-flight side at Elland Road this Saturday. The Whites will take on RB Leipzig, hoping to win their third consecutive Club Friendly.
After dropping their first exhibition match against Wrexham (3-2), Daniel Farke’s men secured back-to-back victories against fellow Premier League sides, Sunderland (1-0) and Liverpool (4-2). Then, after this weekend’s matchup against RB Leipzig, Leeds United will take on Manchester United and Augsburg to wrap up before opening their season at Nottingham Forest.
On the other hand, RB Leipzig have faced lesser competition in preseason thus far. Following their 3-1 loss to Mamelodi Sundowns, Martin Demichelis’ side went on a three-game winning streak against Altglienicke (2-1), Ingolstadt (1-0), and SC Verl (4-0), and Saturday represents their biggest test yet. After the Leeds United match, they’ll face Bayern Munich before opening their season with a DFB-Pokal first-round matchup against Eintracht Trier.
Talking Points
Leeds United’s new boys are settling in
Leeds United finished 14th in the Premier League table this past season, so they have nowhere to go but up. The Whites weren’t expected to do much in the summer window due to their limited budget (compared to other teams), but they still did okay this offseason.
The Whites regained some financial flexibility by parting ways with several players, selling Pascal Struijk, Isaac Schmidt, and Jack Harrison to Brighton, Young Boys, and New England Revolution, respectively, while not renewing the contracts of Maximilian Wober, Karl Darlow, and Ilian Meslier. In return, they swooped up Harry Wilson on a free transfer and bought Tarik Muharemovic from Sassuolo for roughly €37 million. At the time of writing, the Whites are also closing in on a deal for Manchester City’s James Trafford, who’s expected to replace Meslier between the sticks.
Wilson showed glimpses of what he can do for Leeds United during his second-half shift against Wrexham, where he almost scored the equaliser during stoppage time. However, he was less involved against Sunderland. Moreover, Muharemovic made his Whites debut against Sunderland, where he thwarted some of the Black Cats’ forays into the final third. Both of these players also played a part in their comeback win against Liverpool.
Head coach Daniel Farke could miss up to four key players against RB Leipzig, namely Ilia Gruev, Lucas Perri, Jaka Bijol, Noah Okafor, and Gabriel Gudmundsson. At the same time, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Brenden Aaronson are set to return, improving the team’s SBOTOP Club Friendly 2026 odds.
RB Leipzig are moving on from Diomande
RB Leipzig finished third in the Bundesliga last term, but they’ll find it difficult to outdo it without one of their best players, Yan Diomande, who’s set for a move to Real Madrid. With Diomande on his way out, Christoph Baumgartner, Romulo Cardoso, Antonio Nusa, Assan Ouedraogo, Conrad Harder, and Brajan Gruda are expected to pick up the slack.
The Red Bulls have focused on strengthening their backline this summer with the additions of Maxime Esteve, Rocco Reitz, and Orjan Nyland (alongside midfielders Viggo Gebel and Ota Yamamoto). In return, they’ve parted ways with Xaver Schlager and Peter Gulacsi.
And according to the latest Club Friendly 2026 news, RB Leipzig have completed the signing of striker Fisnik Asllani, Hoffenheim’s second-leading scorer last season with 10 league goals and seven assists. However, the game on Saturday against Leeds United might be too soon for his Red Bulls debut.
History
Saturday marks the first-ever competitive meeting between Leeds United and RB Leipzig. This is not surprising since the Red Bulls are a much newer club, unlike the Whites, who have already been around since 1919.
RB Leipzig were founded in 2009, thanks to a massive investment by Red Bull GmbH after a three-year negotiation period. Over the next seven years, the Red Bulls fought their way to be regulars in the German top-flight. Since their promotion in 2016, RB Leipzig have never looked back, having regularly competed in the Europa League and Champions League.
Leeds United have gone in and out of the Premier League in the past few seasons. After securing their promotion in 2020, the Whites have spent three years in the English top-flight before dropping back to the Championship. After back-to-back campaigns in the second division, Leeds United returned to the Premier League in 2025. As mentioned earlier, RB Leipzig are in slightly better recent form with three wins and one loss in preseason, while Leeds United – who faced stronger competition – have two wins and one loss.
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