In the opening leg of the UEFA Champions League round of 16, RB Leipzig will welcome Real Madrid, the semifinalists from the previous season, to the Red Bull Arena Leipzig on Tuesday.
The hosts' two group stage losses came against defending champion Manchester City, and they ultimately placed second in the Group B standings. The visitors won Group C and had a perfect record during the group stage.
After losing their first three games of the season in a row, the hosts have recovered nicely, winning their past two games and drawing the other. In their last game, they played Augsburg in the Bundesliga and ended up drawing 2-2 thanks to goals from Benjamin Šeško and Loïs Openda.
The visitors have won four of their previous five games and are riding high going into this one. They defeated Girona 4-0 at home in their La Liga matchup at the top of the standings on Saturday. Their lucky charm, Jude Bellingham, won a brace.
Real Madrid vs. RB Leipzig Prediction
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In their last six games in all competitions, Die Roten Bullen have only managed one victory and three losses. It's interesting to note that they have scored two goals each in their previous four games, and they intend to continue this trend. They have only played competitive home games against Spanish teams twice, going 2-0 with a draw in both of those encounters.
For this pivotal game, head coach Marco Rose had nearly an entirely healthy roster, with Amadou Haidara
With 12 goals scored and 4 goals allowed in their past five games, Los Blancos are undefeated. They will want to continue their winning streak, as they have won eight of their past ten road games across all competitions. Jude Bellingham, who leads the team in scoring, suffered an ankle injury during the victory over Girona, therefore Carlo Ancelotti will be without him for the trip to Germany.
Real Madrid is anticipated to win by a slim margin since they have performed well in spite of a few injury concerns, including Thibaut Courtois, and because of their outstanding performance in the Champions League knockout round.
Preview of the Match
When Real Madrid visits RB Leipzig at Red Bull Arena on Tuesday for the first leg of their round-of-16 match, they will be seeking to take the early lead in the UEFA Champions League knockout stages.
Carlo Ancelotti's team defeated Union Berlin, Braga, and Napoli both at home and away as they easily won six games in a row to top Group C. Madrid easily advanced to the round of 16 thanks to emphatic wins against Braga and Napoli at home, averaging more than two goals each contest.
Their winning streak of six games is their longest in the competition since their winning run of ten games from April 2014 to February 2015. However, Ancelotti and the Madrid supporters won't be too concerned about that if
Jude Bellingham, who joined Los Blancos in the summer from Borussia Dortmund and has now scored or assisted in all five of his Champions League games, is largely responsible for Madrid's supremacy in Europe this season. No player has created more opportunities from open play in the competition this term than Bellingham (15). The England midfielder also leads the way in chances produced after a carry (nine) and via a line-breaking pass (six).
With the help of their superstar Bellingham and offensive players like Rodrygo and Vinícius Júnior, Madrid is confident that they can continue their remarkable record of success in the knockout stages. In the Champions League, they have advanced from 11 of their previous 13 round of 16 matches, arriving at
Thibaut Courtois, the goalkeeper, David Alaba, Antonio Rüdiger, and Éder Militão are the only longer-term absences from Ancelotti's starting eleven for Tuesday. Both Eduardo Camavinga and Vinícius were fit enough for Saturday's convincing 4-0 La Liga victory against Girona, but Bellingham hobbled off and Ancelotti will be without his best player because of an ankle issue.
This will be RB Leipzig's fourth trip to the Champions League knockout stages, and it will be the first time they have avoided an English opponent in the round of 16. This is a sharp contrast to their guests. After defeating Tottenham en route to the 2019–20 Bundesliga semi-final, Liverpool eliminated them in 2020–21, and Manchester City became victorious the following season.
Behind was Marco Rose's team in second place.
With four goals in the Champions League, Leipzig's main attacking player during the group stage was Loïs Openda. The only player to ever score more goals in a single season for the German team is Christopher Nkunku (seven in 2021-22), whose stellar performances in Europe helped him land a move to Chelsea.
Regarding the remaining members of Rose's team, veteran goalkeeper Péter Gulácsi and captain Willi Orbán recently returned to action in the Bundesliga after injuries, while Amadou Haidara has returned from his Africa Cup of Nations duty with Mali and Mohamed Simakan made his Bundesliga debut following a domestic suspension on Saturday in the 2-2 draw against Augsburg.
Real Madrid vs. RB Leipzig Head-to-Head
In the past 15 Champions League games, Madrid has only lost once, to Leipzig in the group stage of the previous season, but even then, they have easily defeated German teams in this league.
In that triumph, Rodrygo and Vinícius Júnior both scored goals for the Bundesliga team, which also included goals from Josko Gvardiol, Nkunku, and Timo Werner. However, the Leipzig three have since moved to the Premier League, to Manchester City, Chelsea, and Tottenham, respectively.
The first-ever Champions League encounter between the two teams took place in September 2022, with Madrid emerging victorious 2-0 thanks to goals from Federico Valverde and the now-departed Marco Asensio.
Good things are also happening for Ancelotti's team because Madrid has a solid record against German teams; their last defeat in the knockout stages came from Borussia Dortmund in the 2012–13 semifinal.
Real Madrid vs. RB Leipzig: Recent Form
Leipzig may be nervous about their matchup with Real Madrid in the round of 16 given the team's flawless six-game winning streak in Europe and their 27-match winning streak overall since their 3-1 loss to bitter rivals Atlético Madrid back in September.
Leipzig hasn't kept a clean sheet in any of their previous 13 Champions League home games since defeating Istanbul Basaksehir 2-0 in October 2020, raising doubts about Rose's team's defensive stability.
Leipzig, on the other hand, has scored in each of their past 16 games at the Red Bull Arena, failing to score in just one of their 20 games in UEFA's top club league.
Rankings of Opta Power
Over 13,000 domestic football teams are given an ability score on a scale of zero to 100, with zero being the lowest-ranked team in the world and 100 representing the highest-ranked team worldwide, by the Opta Power Rankings, a global team rating system.
When Real Madrid plays RB Leipzig in their opening leg of the round of 16 on Tuesday, they will be bringing their undefeated record in the UEFA Champions League to Germany. So far, Carlo Ancelotti's team has been outstanding, winning Group C handily, while Marco Rose's team finished second in Group G, trailing just the reigning champions Manchester City. Real is also brimming with confidence, having just destroyed Girona at the top of La Liga, despite Jude Bellingham's injury. That might be it for Los Blancos in Spain, allowing them to focus on trying to get to the quarterfinals with the least amount of drama. Xavi Simons and Lois Openda of Leipzig, though, will want to have a voice in that regard despite
Leipzig: If they are not careful, Mohamed Simakan and Benjamin Henrichs could risk second leg suspensions, while Amadou Haidara, who missed the Augsburg draw, could be a doubt. While Castello Lukeba is in the same boat, his chances of starting are reduced now that captain Willi Orban is returned after an injury kept him out of the group stage.
Possible Leipzig starting eleven: Olmo, Schlager, Kampl, Simons; Gulacsi; Simakan, Lukeba, Orban, Raum; Sesko, Openda.
Real: Bellingham is probably going to be out due to his injury, so Brahim Diaz will probably be here, and Antonio Rudiger is probably going to be out with an injury as well. Though Thibaut Courtois, David Alaba, and Eder Militao are still out, Nacho Fernandez ought to return to the defense.
Lunin; Carvajal, Tchouameni, Nacho, Mendy; Valverde, Kroos, Camavinga; Diaz; Vinicius Jr., Rodrygo are possible Real XI choices.
Forecast
Leipzig and Real, two clubs that can be undone at the back but have plenty of firepower up top, look to make this one an intriguing first leg. It wouldn't be shocking if either team won by a slim margin, and the hosts will be hoping to gain some kind of lead going into the second leg. Selection: Leipzig 2, Real 2.
With a commanding lead in the La Liga title fight, Real Madrid can now focus on the Champions League as the elimination stage begins with a first-leg meeting at RB Leipzig in the Round of 16.
Despite suffering an injury to teenage talisman Jude Bellingham during their decisive victory against second-place Girona over the weekend, Los Blancos earned a clear five-point lead atop the domestic standings.
Only minutes after scoring his second goal of the game in a 4-0 victory, Bellingham hobbled off at the hour mark. Due to an ankle injury, the 20-year-old phenom will be out for a few weeks. As a result, Brahim Diaz will probably take his spot at the top of Carlo Ancelotti's midfield diamond.
In the group round of the UCL competition last year, RB Leizpig defeated Real Madrid at home. However, they are currently in bad form, having only won once in their past six games, which has pushed them outside of the Bundesliga top four.
USA: Go here to view the most recent odds and place a wager on the Champions League match between Real Madrid and RB Leipzig.
RB Leipzig vs. Real Madrid prediction and odds
Lean on the moneyline: Real Madrid (+120)
Predicted score: Real Madrid 1-2 RB Leipzig
Despite suffering greatly from injuries this season, Real Madrid is still very much in the running for many titles at this point in the challenging season, which is a tribute to Carlo Ancelotti. Jude Bellingham is the most recent player to give up due to fitness issues; Real Madrid has previously lost a goalkeeper and three center backs.
Even so, this season's Los Blancos have not been defeated by a team other than Atletico Madrid. Vinicius Jr. has often put the team on his back, even when they aren't playing at their best. The value of a bad outcome is too great to make you shy away from the Spanish powerhouses with +300 chances to win.
Match details for Real Madrid vs. RB Leipzig
Date: February 13, 2024, Tuesday
Start Time: 3 p.m. ET / 12 p.m. PT / 9 p.m. local
Location: Leipzig, Germany's Red Bull Arena
VAR: Pol van Boekel (NED), referee: Irfan Peljto (BIH)
Real Madrid 3-2 RB Leipzig at their most recent meeting (Oct. 25, 2022 | Champions League)
Best wager for Real Madrid vs. RB Leipzig
Prediction: Vincius Jr. to assist or score a goal
Odds (FanDuel): -110
Now that Jude Bellingham is hurt, Vinicius Jr. is leading the attack, and he is in a perfect position to do it.
After recovering from an injury in early January, the Brazilian has contributed six goals in five La Liga games and five goals in his three Champions League group stage games. With his hat-trick against Barcelona in the Supercopa final, Vinicius is playing at a high level. As icing on the cake, he contributed a goal and an assist in the two group stage encounters between these teams last year.
As RB Leipzig would much rather let players like Brahim Diaz and Rodrygo beat them, he will undoubtedly draw a lot of defensive attention, but Vinicius is used to this kind of thing.
Prop bet on Real Madrid vs. RB Leipzig
Prediction: Real Madrid to win the game and RB Leipzig to win 1H double chance
(+360) odds (DraftKings)
During their recent bad run of form, RB Leipzig hasn't had any trouble scoring goals early on; nevertheless, after the hour, they have collapsed. Just three of RB Leipzig's 17 league goals since the beginning of December have come after the 60th minute, while nine of the team's 16 goals conceded have occurred after halftime.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, excels in the second half. They are second in La Liga with 19 points from losing situations this season, but they have a cutting edge when under pressure. They are currently ranked sixth in La Liga in terms of predicted goals through 45 minutes of play. That has been made possible by their 34 goals in the second half, which accounts for 65% of their total. From the 46th to the 75th minute, Los Blancos score more goals than any other La Liga team, stabilizing games before the pressure really gets to bear.
Real Madrid may be held or even behind before the half due to their conditioning issues, but so far, only Atleti has been able to contain this Los Blancos team for the whole 90 minutes. That was the situation the previous time Madrid visited Union Berlin to finish the group stage in November; they went into halftime tied at zero goals before Los Blancos came back to win 3-2 in the closing moments.
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