RB Leipzig and Eintracht Frankfurt ready to express the joy of youth
The Bundesliga has long been a destination where the most exciting young footballing talent on the continent has been encouraged to flourish and when RB Leipzig host Eintracht Frankfurt on Saturday, the stage will be brimming with youthful exuberance.
The weekend's hosts at the Red Bull Arena have become one of the biggest draws in the division for their fast-flowing, exciting brand of football under coach Ole Werner.
Being the Bundesliga's youngest team right now with an average age of 24.8 years adds to Leipzig's energetic displays that have had supporters in Saxony thrilled with their side's run to second place in the standings.
Whirlwind talents like teenagers Yan Diomande and Assan Ouédraogo - who recently won his first Germany cap - have helped to ensure that that 45 percent of Die Roten Bullen's goals (or 10 in 22) have been scored by Leipzig players under the age of 23.
Watch: Ouédraogo on the road to stardom
And it's not just in attack where the team is profiting from the joy of youth. At just 22, central defender Castello Lukeba is also enjoying a storming season, winning 68 percent of his duels as RBL's best tackler this term. Featuring alongside dependable veteran and club captain Willi Orbán, that's saying a lot.
With a squad brimming with so much fresh, young talent, it's little wonder that coach Werner said, "I’ve seen a lot of happy faces on the training pitch."
Speaking back in August after a significant club transfer drive to recruit many young, new faces, Werner explained: "They are all young and hungry players with potential who want to take the next step here together with us. We trust them with key roles."
Watch: Shine bright like Diomande
That trust is paying off for a team that is tearing it up in the Bundesliga in what is technically a season of transition following the disappointment of missing out on European competition for the first time since their promotion to the top flight in 2016 last term.
Leipzig's opponents this weekend, Eintracht, have also been displaying a daring brand of football with several young stars among their impressive ranks. Indeed, the Eagles starting line-ups this season have boasted an average age of just 25.2 years, which is the joint-third youngest in the Bundesliga along with VfB Stuttgart.
Turkey international Can Uzun (20) has arguably been the standout performer for Frankfurt so far as they have balanced life competing in the Bundesliga and the UEFA Champions League.
Watch: Super Can Uzun
However, with Jean-Mattéo Bahoya, Elias Baum (both 20), Germany international Nnamdi Collins (21), and forward Elye Wahi (22) also in the Frankfurt mix, Dino Toppmöller's team have been essential viewing in the campaign to date.
"It's a lot of fun on the pitch,” said Uzun, who has weighed in with a sizeable eight goal involvements in nine Bundesliga appearances this season, but is currently sidelined with a muscle injury. His five top-flight goals have helped to up Eintracht's scoring tally by players under 23 to 32 percent (or nine of 28).
Yet, it hasn't always gone as smoothly for the Eagles as it has in Leipzig. Die Adler are currently seventh in the standings and have had to learn from several setbacks along the way on the domestic and European fronts.
“We have [one of] the youngest teams in the league," Eintracht attacker Ansgar Knauff, himself still just 23, said when asked to explain some of his side's more difficult moments in 2025/26 so far.
"We’re playing against a lot of top European teams [and] defeats come with that," the attacker added. "I’m sure that both wins and defeats will help us along our way."
Watch: When Eintracht and Leipzig last met
A win against Leipzig this weekend could potentially propel Toppmöller and Co. right back into the Bundesliga's top-four mix. In Leipzig, however, Eintracht know that they will be up against a side who have yet to taste defeat at home and have conceded just three times at the Red Bull Arena in 2025/26.
All told, a Matchday 13 meeting between two teams teeming with such exciting, young talent will make for compulsory viewing this Saturday.
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