Real Madrid will look to continue their impressive form when they travel to Germany for the UEFA Champions League clash against RB Leipzig.
Real Madrid, who face RB Leipzig next, are currently unbeaten in Europe as well as in La Liga. Carlo Ancelotti will demand a strong performance from his side here, and Los Blancos will have the opportunity to win their group with a victory here.
Meanwhile, RB Leipzig have picked up six points from two Group F games so far, and Shakhtar Donetsk are breathing down their necks. The German outfit cannot afford to slip up here or they could find themselves out of the top two soon.
Both teams will be fairly confident heading into this contest. Real Madrid picked up a 3-1 win over Sevilla in their last outing, and RB Leipzig produced a remarkable comeback to secure a 3-3 draw against FC Augsburg. They were 3-0 down in the game and did exceedingly well to crawl back and secure a point. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
RB Leipzig
🎙️ Marco Rose and Willi Orbán are speaking at the #RBLRMA press conference. Team news:
ℹ️ @TimoWerner has completed light training and is fit again, but has not trained much. He'll be in the squad but is not yet ready to play 90 minutes.
🔴⚪ #WeAreLeipzig pic.twitter.com/zCjTsX63xE
— RB Leipzig English (@RBLeipzig_EN) October 24, 2022
Marco Rose will be without the services of Konrad Laimer, Lukas Klostermann and Peter Gulacsi due to injuries. The RB Leipzig boss is expected to deploy his preferred 4-2-3-1 formation against Real Madrid this week. In the absence of Gulacsi, Janis Blaswich will start in goal.
Mohamed Simakan will start as the right-back, with Willi Orban and Josko Gvardiol starting as the centre-halves. David Raum will feature as the left-back here. Simakan and Raum will be tasked with keeping the in-form Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo quiet. They will also be expected to provide an outlet to the midfield going forward.
Amadou Haidara and Xaver Schlager will form the double pivot in midfield. And the duo will look to break up the Real Madrid build-up and set up counter-attacking opportunities for their side.
RB Leipzig have an impressive front four. And Timo Werner and Dominik Szoboszlai will start as the wide players. They will add pace and drive in the final third. Szoboszlai is excellent with his late runs into the box, and he will look to drag the defenders out of position, creating space for Christopher Nkunku to exploit. The Frenchman is expected to start in the hole, behind striker Andre Silva.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Blaswich; Simakan, Orban, Gvardiol, Raum; Haidara, Schlager; Szoboszlai, Nkunku, Werner; Silva
Real Madrid
Carlo Ancelotti will be without Dani Ceballos, Luka Modric, Federico Valverde and Karim Benzema for the trip to Germany. Real Madrid have enough quality to grind out an important result despite the absentees. But it remains to be seen whether the replacements can step up and get the job done in the absence of key stars.
📋✅ Our squad for the match 🆚 @RBLeipzig_EN!#UCL pic.twitter.com/4kTPuoU8Cc
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) October 23, 2022
Modrić out of the squad at the last minute.#RealMadrid
— Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) October 24, 2022
The visitors will set up in their usual 4-3-3 formation, with Thibaut Courtois in goal. Dani Carvajal and Ferland Mendy will continue as the full-backs. Apart from their defensive duties, they will be expected to join the attackers and create an overload in the Leipzig defensive half.
Eder Militao is likely to partner David Alaba at the heart of the Real Madrid defence. The duo will have to be on top of their game while dealing with the likes of Christopher Nkunku and Andre Silva.
In the midfield three, the experienced Toni Kroos will be partnered by Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga. While Tchouameni will look to break up the play, Camavinga will look to drive the team forward with his bulldozing runs. Kroos is expected to recycle the possession and control the tempo of the game.
Eden Hazard could lead the line in the absence of Benzema. Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo Goes are expected to start out wide.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Alaba, Mendy; Camavinga, Tchouameni, Kroos; Rodrygo, Hazard, Vinicius
Key Stats
- Real Madrid are undefeated in their last six matches in the UEFA Champions League.
- RB Leipzig are unbeaten in the last six matches across all competitions.
- Real Madrid are unbeaten in the last six matches across all competitions.
- RB Leipzig have conceded seven goals in their last four Champions League matches.
- Real Madrid have lost just one of the last eight Champions League matches in Germany.
Player to Watch
Vinicius Junior
Vinicius Jr this season 🔥
• 7 Goals (t-1st)
• 5 Assists (t-1st) pic.twitter.com/fnp0utDFFR— RMadridHome (@RMadridHome) October 23, 2022
The Brazilian was in impressive form against Sevilla, and he picked up two assists in the game. In the absence of Karim Benzema, the onus will be on Vinicius to create goalscoring opportunities for his side and get on the scoresheet himself. He is our man to watch against RB Leipzig this week.
Prediction
RB Leipzig 1-1 Real Madrid
The German outfit were comprehensively beaten at the Santiago Bernabeu in the previous meeting between the two sides. But they are up against a depleted Real Madrid side here. The absence of Luka Modric and Karim Benzema will be a huge blow for the visitors, and the German outfit will look to take advantage of that.
That said, Real Madrid are still a formidable side and Leipzig have to work hard to grind out a positive result. The two sides are likely to cancel each other out in the end. The Hard Tackle predicts a 1-1 draw between RB Leipzig and Real Madrid on Tuesday.
