Wolverhampton Wanderers will round off their pre-season tour of the United States with a contest against Bundesliga outfit RB Leipzig on Saturday.
The English side will begin their 2024-25 Premier League campaign against Arsenal on August 17, while Leipzig's new Bundesliga season starts on August 24.
Match preview
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Wolves have played twice since arriving in the United States, opening their preparations for the new Premier League campaign with a 3-1 success over West Ham United, but they suffered a 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace on Wednesday night.
Gary O'Neil's side will now tackle Bundesliga opposition in the shape of Leipzig before heading back to England for their final friendly of the summer, which will take place next Saturday against La Liga outfit Rayo Vallecano.
Wolves will then begin their 2024-25 Premier League season away to Arsenal on August 17, with their first home match coming eight days later against Chelsea.
O'Neil's team, who finished 14th in the Premier League last season, have made four signings so far this summer, with the biggest of those in terms of a fee proving to be Rodrigo Gomes.
Max Kilman has been their biggest exit, meanwhile, with the 27-year-old centre-back completing a switch to West Ham United, and his departure is a big blow for the team considering his importance.
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Leipzig, meanwhile, started their preparations for the new season with a clash against Aston Villa on Wednesday, and they ran out 2-0 winners over the Premier League club.
Marco Rose's side will follow this match with a fixture against Paris Saint-Germain on August 10, and they will then be in German Cup action against Rot-Weiss Essen on August 17.
Leipzig's 2024-25 Bundesliga campaign begins on August 24 against Bochum, and it will be fascinating to see how the Red Bulls perform this season, having finished fourth in Germany's top flight in 2023-24.
Die Roten Bullen have managed to bring in Maarten Vandevoordt and Assan Ouedraogo this summer, but Xavi Simons has returned to parent club PSG, while Dani Olmo is said to be closing in on a big-money move to Barcelona, so the club are set to be two important players down for the 2024-25 campaign.
Team News
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Wolves have not reported any injury problems from their clash with Palace last time out, so head coach O'Neil is expected to have the same squad available.
There will again be changes throughout the contest, but it is likely that some of their starters next season will receive more minutes, including Hwang Hee-chan and Mario Lemina.
Rodrigo Gomes and Tommy Doyle should both be in the starting side, with fellow new arrival Jorgen Strand Larsen potentially featuring off the bench.
As for Leipzig, Olmo is not with the squad due to his involvement for Spain at Euro 2024, but the attacker has seemingly now played his final match for the Bundesliga outfit, with a move to Barcelona thought to be close.
Benjamin Sesko is with the squad, though, and the striker, who is staying with the Red Bulls despite a host of transfer speculation earlier this summer, could come in for a start.
Lois Openda and Andre Silva were on the scoresheet against Villa last time out, and the pair are also expected to retain their starting roles for the clash with Wolves.
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Bentley; Doherty, Dawson, Toti, S Bueno; Cundle, Doyle, Lemina; Hwang, Guedes, R Gomes
RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:
Gulacsi; Simakan, Orban, Bitshiabu, Klostermann; Elmas, Haidara, Kampl; A Silva, Sesko, Openda
We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-2 RB Leipzig
Leipzig were impressive against Villa last time out, and we are expecting the Bundesliga outfit to be strong again here. Wolves are more than capable of bouncing back from their loss to Palace, though, and we are backing an entertaining draw here.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Matt Law
