Bulls on tired legs as Vitesse come calling

Leipzig have made a habit of these European evenings, and the visit of Vitesse is one they will be expected to take by the horns. Yet the fixture list has left its mark. Albert Franco, the striker, is rated at 65% and tired, Jeferson Ortega and Roberto Robles are carrying their own fatigue, and Jorge Novillo, the players' player of the year, is short of full sharpness too. Romain Capron's twisted ankle has already robbed the right side of an option, as reported here a fortnight ago. The expected 4-3-3 is unchanged, but the legs inside it are not.

Vitesse have problems of their own. Nenad Pešić, the right winger, is out with pulled knee ligaments and not due back until around 7 November, while Chris has a bruised knee. More striking is the condition of the midfield: Iliass Guennouni is jaded at 51%, Giels de Wilde and Emanuel Martey are barely above half, and Zsolt Horváth is at 52%. A side that has taken 2.22 points a game against this shape will need every one of them to hold up.

The duels set the tone. Hamza De Groote's dribbling against Horváth's tackling gives Leipzig a lane down the left, while Stuart Musselwhite's pace against Robles, whose recent ratings have dipped, is Vitesse's clearest route out. In the air, Marcel Hering should dominate Franco; in behind, Franco's movement may trouble him. Saúl Arce has been Leipzig's creative pulse, and Guennouni theirs, even weary. What is at stake is simple: Leipzig's home rhythm against a Vitesse side that knows how to spoil a night.