Two sides still searching for their first win of the 2021-22 Champions League prepare for battle at the Red Bull Arena as RB Leipzig welcome Club Brugge on Tuesday in Group A.
The hosts were humbled 6-3 by Manchester City on matchday one, whereas their Belgian opponents managed to hold Paris Saint-Germain to a 1-1 draw on home soil.
Match preview
© Reuters
After opening their Bundesliga season with three defeats from four, RB Leipzig coach Jesse Marsch admitted that his side may not have been ready to go toe to toe with Manchester City in the Champions League, and the American's fears were proven right in gameweek one.
Christopher Nkunku may have bagged an eye-catching hat-trick at the Etihad, but six different scorers on the hosts' end saw Man City run out 6-3 winners during an enthralling affair, but the Bundesliga side have since notched up six goals at the correct end of the pitch over the course of 90 minutes.
Hertha Berlin paid a visit to the Red Bull Arena in Saturday's Bundesliga clash only to be taught a footballing lesson by Marsch's side, who saw Nkunku bag a brace while Emil Forsberg, Yussuf Poulsen, Amadou Haidara and Nordi Mukiele also got in on the act in a 6-0 win.
Having managed to end a four-game winless streak across all competitions in emphatic fashion, Leipzig will now seek to reverse their fortunes in the Champions League, as they have lost their last three in the competition and have conceded 15 in their last five European encounters.
However, the German side did manage to win all three of their home games in the group stage last term - which includes two remarkable victories over PSG and Manchester United - but Brugge are a side buoyed by a recent memorable result of their own.
© Reuters
With Lionel Messi, Kylian Mbappe and Neymar all starting together for the first time in PSG colours, Brugge were expected to become the first victims of a navy blue goal-fest from three attackers feared globally individually, let alone all in the same team.
However, an unlikely source in Ander Herrera would open the scoring at the Jan-Breydel-Stadion with 15 minutes on the clock, but with Mauricio Pochettino's famed front three struggling to live up to expectation, Brugge rescued a point through captain Hans Vanaken.
While it would be extremely harsh to label Philippe Clement's side as the whipping boys in Group A, Brugge were always expected to finish fourth in a group with PSG, Leipzig and Manchester City, but a creditable opening point has certainly turned some heads.
Since holding the Ligue 1 leaders to a draw, Brugge have taken four points from their next two league fixtures - beating Sporting Charleroi 1-0 before drawing 1-1 with OH Leuven on Friday night - but they have won just one of their last six away games in the Champions League.
Tuesday's game will mark the first time that Leipzig and Brugge have locked horns in any competition, but the Belgian giants travel to Germany on a 10-game winless streak against sides from the nation - losing seven and drawing three such encounters.
- L
- W
- L
- L
- L
- D
- W
- D
- W
- L
- W
- D
- W
- D
Team News
© Reuters
Leipzig full-back Angelino saw red at the Etihad against his former club and will serve a suspension this week, so Dominik Szoboszlai could feature on the left in a 3-4-2-1 as Forsberg continues further forwards.
Marcel Halstenberg's ankle injury is expected to keep him out until November, and Marsch's defensive ranks have also taken a hit after 19-year-old Josko Gvardiol had to come off injured against Hertha, so Mohamed Simakan could start on Tuesday.
Creative hub Dani Olmo has suffered a minor muscle tear and joins Tyler Adams on the sidelines, while Andre Silva has his work cut out to displace Poulsen at the tip of the attack.
As for Brugge, captain Ruud Vormer is facing a race to be fit in time for Tuesday's game after missing the draw with Leuven, but the 33-year-old is progressing well in training following Achilles problems.
New signing Jose Izquierdo is yet to make his debut for the club, and Clement does not expect the former Brighton & Hove Albion man to return for another several weeks.
The same XI from their draw with PSG took to the field for another 1-1 stalemate with Leuven on Friday, and it would not be surprising to see Clement keep faith with the same contingent of players here.
RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:
Gulacsi; Klostermann, Simakan, Orban; Mukiele, Kampl, Haidara, Szoboszlai; Nkunku, Forsberg; Poulsen
Club Brugge possible starting lineup:
Mignolet; Mata, Hendry, Nsoki, Sobol; Sowah, Balanta, Rits, Lang; Vanaken; De Ketelaere
We say: RB Leipzig 2-0 Club Brugge
Leipzig have their work cut out to breach a watertight Brugge defence six times, but such a crushing victory in the Bundesliga will have done wonders for the confidence in the hosts' camp.
Clement's side produced the goods against PSG in front of their own supporters and cannot be written off by any stretch, although we still expect Leipzig to keep their strong Champions League home run going with all three points on Tuesday.
Top tip
Ben Knapton
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a RB Leipzig win with a probability of 46.14%. A draw had a probability of 28.3% and a win for Club Brugge had a probability of 25.59%.
The most likely scoreline for a RB Leipzig win was 1-0 with a probability of 14.4%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 2-0 (9.43%) and 2-1 (8.47%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (12.93%), while for a Club Brugge win it was 0-1 (9.88%). The actual scoreline of 1-2 was predicted with a 5.8% likelihood.
