Editor's note: ESPN's lead Bundesliga commentator, Derek Rae, is in Leipzig this week for Friday's return of Germany's top flight and examines the possibility that the club most hard-core fans have little time for might nevertheless represent Bayern's closest pursuers over the long haul.
January in Eastern Germany can be a grim time with bleak, cold weather, serving as a reminder of why the Bundesliga has historically favoured a lengthy winter break extending from before Christmas and well into the new calendar year. Despite the bitter Sachsen chill and a forecast hinting at a liberal helping of snow showers, there is optimism among those who have latched on to the newest of new clubs in the East, that RB Leipzig can, at a minimum, finish second in the Oberhaus as they've done twice before in their brief, polarizing history.