As Liverpool swagger into the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig, they look to make it three Champions League victories on the bounce, following up on their impressive starts to the season under Arne Slot. The Reds have won all but one of their opening 11 matches, with two of those victories coming in the Champions League against Italian opposition.
Their impressive form hasn’t been limited to European competition, though. A 2-1 win over a resurgent Chelsea side on Sunday secured their spot at the top of the Premier League table for another week.
RB Leipzig, on the other hand, have struggled to find consistency after a strong start to the season. Their usually solid defense has been breached by both Atletico Madrid and Juventus, leaving them playing catch-up on the continent. Despite this, Marco Rose’s side finds themselves second in the Bundesliga and unbeaten domestically – albeit his side’s overall form has been patchy.
Here are some key points to consider ahead of this intriguing encounter:
* RB Leipzig will be without four players, with Nicolas Seiwald, Xaver Schlager, Assan Ouedraogo, and Amadou Haidara all ruled out due to injury.
* Lois Openda should be fit to feature in the front line, despite a minor injury scare at the weekend.
* David Raum and Antonio Nusa will be unavailable for selection.
On the Liverpool side, Diogo Jota’s fitness issues continue to cause frustration, and he’s extremely unlikely to feature. Alisson remains out with a hamstring problem, to be replaced by Caoimhin Kelleher in goal. Federico Chiesa is also a doubt, while Louis Diaz and Darwin Nunez could come into the starting lineup.
With this information in mind, here are the predicted lineups for both teams:
RB Leipzig: Gulacsi; Klostermann, Orban, Lukeba; Geertruida, Kampl, Haidara, Nusa; Simons, Sesko; Openda
Liverpool: Kelleher; Alexander-Arnold, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Jones, Mac Allister; Salah, Szoboszlai, Diaz; Núñez
Based on this analysis, I predict a 3-1 victory for Liverpool, with Leipzig’s attacking unit causing trouble, but ultimately falling short against a robust Reds defense.
