RB Leipzig vs Liverpool
UEFA Champions League
Date: Tuesday, 16 February 2021
Kick-off at 20:00 UK/ 21:00 CET
Venue: Puskás Aréna.
LIVERPOOL will be looking to return to winning ways when they lock horns with RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Tuesday night.
Jurgen Klopp’s Reds are enduring a real period of woe, winning only three three of their last 12 matches across all competitions.
Last time out Liverpool self-destructed in spectacular fashion as they fell to a 3-1 defeat at Leicester, on an afternoon where our man Kevin Mac delivered a fantastic full house of winning bets.
That defeat all but ended Liverpool’s hopes of retaining the Premier League title and as such a Champions League triumph now represents their last realistic shot at silverware this season.
RB Leipzig vs Liverpool Head-to-head (h2h) :
- These two teams have never fought against each other. However, the Red Bulls have a 100% winning record against EPL clubs, barring a single loss at the Old Trafford against Manchester United.
- They have kept clean sheets in two of the former four games, and had scored three or more goals in two of the preceding four encounters.
- Klopp’s men are on a ten-match unbeaten run against German rivals.
- The latest clash was against Bayern in the Round of 16 of the 2019-20 edition, and then they recorded a 3-1 aggregate win.
RB Leipzig vs Liverpool Prediction :
Given the way they romped to the Premier League title last season, you could be forgiven for thinking that we were about to enter another Liverpool dynasty in which they dominate English football and take the challenge abroad too. But the wheels have well and truly fallen off at Anfield, with Jurgen Klopp conceding they are no longer in the title race following defeat to Leicester City at the weekend.
A 3-1 loss at the King Power was Liverpool’s third-consecutive defeat in the Premier League and their sixth across all competitions since the start of 2021 (just two wins). But now the attention will turn to the Champions League, a competition in which Liverpool have happy memories for the season, winning four and losing just one of their opening six group stage games.
Like Liverpool, RB Leipzig had a somewhat rocky start to the new year, winning just two of their opening five games a run that included a 3-2 defeat to relegation-battling Mainz in January. However, they have rebounded from that to win their past four games across all competitions, including a big 1-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen at the end of last month.
RB Leipzig may count themselves fortunate to be in the last-16 of the Champions League, only securing their second-placed finish in the group stage on the final day with a 3-2 win over Manchester United. But they have now reached the knockout stages of the Champions League for the second time in their history, having made it all the way to the semi-finals last season.
RB Leipzig vs Liverpool Team news :
Ibrahima Konate came off the bench last week after nearly two months out but Emil Forsberg, Konrad Laimer, Benjamin Henrichs and Dominik Szoboszlai are all unlikely to be available.
James Milner became another Liverpool casualty after injuring his hamstring against Leicester, joining Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Naby Keita, Diogo Jota, Joel Matip, Fabinho, Ben Davies, Divock Origi and Caoimhin Kelleher on the sidelines.
RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:
Gulacsi; Mukiele, Upamecano, Klostermann; Adams, Sabitzer, Kampl, Olmo, Angelino; Poulsen, Nkunku
Liverpool possible starting lineup:
Alisson; Alexander-Arnold, Kabak, Henderson, Robertson; Thiago, Wijnaldum, Jones; Salah, Firmino, Mane
