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RB Leipzig’s victory over Bayern Munich in the DFL Supercup two weeks ago was supposed to be a shot across the bow to the 11-time defending champions in the Bundesliga.

Leipzig finished just five points behind Bayern and second-place Borussia Dortmund in 2022-23, but with Dortmund expected to take a step back after losing Jude Bellingham to Real Madrid, it was the Red Bulls who were projected to be the main competition for Bayern in the German Bundesliga.

But a season-opening loss to Bayer Leverkusen has thrown cold water on the notion that Leipzig will be able to stick with the Bavarian giants for an entire season.

The good news is that a Friday match at home against Stuttgart should be a decent get-right spot.

While Stuttgart looked impressive in a 5-0 win over Bochum in its curtain-raiser, it should find scoring chances much harder to come by against RB Leipzig. 

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Leipzig’s defense didn’t get off the blocks well against Leverkusen, but it should be able to slow down an offense that finished in the bottom half of the Bundesliga in both goals scored and expected goals created in 2022-23. 

Stuttgart’s defense was also middling in 2022-23 and likely won’t be able to cope with an attack that graded out as the third-best in the Bundesliga last season.

This match has the right ingredients for a rout.

The pick: RB Leipzig -1.5 goals (+125, BetMGM).