Real Madrid vs RB Leipzig: Preview and Prediction
RB Leipzig made a radical move to part ways with their manager after a shocking home loss to Shakhtar Donetsk last week at the start of the UEFA Champions League group stage.
The German outfit had rough several days back then, losing 4-0 at Eintracht Frankfurt and 1-4 to Shakhtar Donetsk within just three days. They experienced a new-manager bounce on Saturday, though, destroying Borussia Dortmund 3-0 at Red Bull Arena. Marco Rose could have hardly imagined a better start to his reign in Leipzig as the convincing victory came just against his former team.
He will, however, face a very tough and complicated task on his UEFA Champions League debut as the head coach of RB Leipzig as his team travels to the Spanish capital to take on the record-extending 14-time winner Real Madrid on Matchday 2.
Real Madrid is yet to make a mistake this season. They stormed past Mallorca on Sunday to make it five wins from five outings in La Liga. Los Blancos also eased past Celtic 0-3 last Tuesday in Glasgow to get off to the best possible start to the UEFA Champions League campaign.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men have once again conceded a goal, though. Each of the five games they played in the domestic league so far in the season ended with Real Madrid’s wins and both teams scoring along the way.
What have they done so far?
Real Madrid are defending UEFA Champions League winners
Real Madrid could have been forgiven for slightly dropping their level in the early stages of this season, having claimed a La Liga and Champions League double last term, but it has been a brilliant start to the campaign for Carlo Ancelotti’s side, winning all seven of their games across three competitions.
Los Blancos lifted the UEFA Super Cup with a 2-0 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt on August 10, while they have won each of their five La Liga games this term against Almeria, Celta Vigo, Espanyol, Real Betis and Mallorca.
Ancelotti’s team were actually behind against Mallorca on Sunday but went on to score four times without reply to record a 4-1 victory, and they are two points clear of second-placed Barcelona at the top of La Liga.
Real Madrid also made the perfect start to their Group F campaign in the Champions League last week, recording a 3-0 victory over Celtic in Glasgow, with Vinicius Junior, Luka Modric and Eden Hazard all scoring in the second half of the contest at Celtic Park.
Los Blancos, who have incredibly now lifted the European Cup on 14 occasions, will take on Atletico Madrid in the Madrid derby this weekend, but Ancelotti’s full focus will be on this game, as the capital outfit looks to put six points on the board in Group F.
Meanwhile, two disastrous results – a 4-0 loss to Eintracht Frankfurt followed by a 4-1 defeat by Shakhtar – led to Domenico Tedesco losing his job as Leipzig head coach earlier this month. Marco Rose was quickly appointed as Tedesco’s replacement, and the 46-year-old, who was sacked by Borussia Dortmund in May, made the perfect start to his reign, steering the team to a 3-0 victory over Dortmund in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
The Red Bulls are still down in 10th position in the Bundesliga table, though, and they have work to do in the Champions League following their shock 4-1 home reverse to Shakhtar last week. Leipzig was knocked out in the group stage of last season’s Champions League, which saw them drop down to the Europa League, and they went all the way to the semi-finals of the competition before losing to Rangers.
The German outfit did manage to make the knockout round of the European Cup in 2020-21, losing 4-0 on aggregate to Liverpool in the round of 16, while they famously reached the semi-finals of the tournament in 2019-20, ultimately losing 3-0 to Paris Saint-Germain.
Team News
Real Madrid will surely miss the services of Karim Benzema in this clash
Real Madrid will again definitely be missing Karim Benzema and Eder Militao for this match through injury, but the pair have a chance of being available for the Madrid derby this weekend. Lucas Vazquez is also a doubt with the thigh problem that he picked up against Mallorca last time out, while Alvaro Odriozola will need to be assessed due to a recent muscular issue.
Hazard started at centre-forward against Mallorca in Benzema’s absence but found it difficult to impress, so Rodrygo could be deployed through the middle here. Federico Valverde is likely to be moved from central midfield to the right of the front three, while Dani Carvajal, Aurelien Tchouameni and Modric should all return to the starting side.
As for Leipzig, Lukas Klostermann and Dani Olmo will miss the contest through injury, but the visitors are otherwise in strong shape heading into the match. Due to the manner of the performance and indeed result against Dortmund on Saturday, it would not be a surprise to see the same starting side take to the field here.
Timo Werner is again set to lead the attack with support from Christopher Nkunku and Dominik Szoboszlai in the wide areas, while Emil Forsberg is likely to continue in the number 10 position for the visitors.
Head to Head Record
This will be the very first instance when the two sides play out each other in the history of any competition and hence head to head records are not applicable for this fixture. However, both teams will be eager to kickstart this new rivalry with a win.
Predicted Starting XIs
Real Madrid (4-3-3): Thibaut Courtois; Ferland Mendy, David Alaba, Antonio Rudiger, Dani Carvajal; Aurelien Tchouameni, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos; Federico Valverde, Vinicius Junior, Eden Hazard
RB Leipzig (4-2-3-1): Peter Gulacsi; David Raum, Mohamed Simakan, Willi Orban, Abdou Diallo; Xaver Schlager, Konrad Laimer; Christopher Nkunku, Emil Forsberg, Dominik Szoboszlai; Timo Werner
Prediction
Real Madrid is a seasoned European campaigner and has dominated the competition in recent years. The reigning champions have been in excellent form this season and will look to top their group.
RB Leipzig has produced a few shocking performances this season but did manage to put their best foot forward against Borussia Dortmund. Real Madrid is the better team, however, and should be able to win this game.