Leipzig without Nkunku and Esteve for German Cup trip to Rot-Weiss Essen
RB Leipzig visit third-tier Rot-Weiss Essen in the German Cup second round on Tuesday without Christopher Nkunku and Maxime Esteve, with Orjan Nyland again in goal.
Archive image · Photo: Blue-Letter at German Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
RB Leipzig will be without two regulars when they visit Rot-Weiss Essen in the second round of the German Cup on Tuesday (1700 GMT). Forward Christopher Nkunku is out with an adductor problem and centre-back Maxime Esteve is also injured. Nkunku is expected to return for the Bundesliga game at Schalke at the weekend. Orjan Nyland again starts in goal ahead of Maarten Vandevoordt, an arrangement coach Martin Demichelis said was agreed before the season.
"It is a tough task, we know that very well," Demichelis said. "We are facing a third-division side that will throw everything into this game – that is exactly what the cup is about." He called for an "intelligent game" from his side. Leipzig's only away win this season was a 6-0 victory at fourth-tier Eintracht Trier in the first round.
Essen are third in the 3. Liga and unbeaten at home, having dropped only one point there. Uwe Koschinat's side knocked out relegated Bundesliga club St. Pauli 2-0 in the first round. Other early games include Hamburg against Eintracht Frankfurt and Bochum against Mainz, while Borussia Dortmund host Werder Bremen in the evening.