RB Leipzig are without important players right at the start of the second half of the Bundesliga season. In addition to young international Assan Ouédraogo, who will miss two months with a knee injury, Castello Lukeba will also have to miss out. A capsule injury will force the central defender to sit out at least two games, coach Ole Werner announced ahead of the match at 1. FC Heidenheim on Saturday (3.30pm/Sky).
Werner announced that the recently unhappy El Chadaille Bitshiabu is the first alternative for his French compatriot. "Now he gets the time to show himself. He has already proven many times that he can do it really well. We have full confidence in his performance," said Werner.
RB with three games against cellar dwellers
Ahead of a hugely important week with games against relegation candidates Heidenheim, St. Pauli (Tuesday) and Mainz (Saturday), the coach is swearing his team to bring their own quality and the will to implement their own plan to bear. For 80 minutes of the Bayern game (1:5), this largely worked very well. In addition to the defensive errors, the team's exploitation of chances and the abandoned structure after the 1:3 were also worthy of criticism. Improving that is part of the team's maturing process.
In this context, Werner also warned against Heidenheim. "It's always unpleasant to play there. The team has a clear plan, is always dangerous with set pieces and has good transition moments," said the 37-year-old.
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