Sports Mole previews Tuesday’s Champions League clash between Celtic and RB Leipzig, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
After three wildly contrasting results so far, Celtic will seek the second win of their Champions League campaign on Tuesday, when RB Leipzig pay a visit to Glasgow.
The Bundesliga side are one of six clubs still searching for their first points, while Celtic have picked up four amid an eventful start to the league phase.
Match preview
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Having been handed an almighty trouncing in their first away game – a 7-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund – Celtic bravely bounced back to keep a clean sheet in their most recent Champions League outing, holding Italy’s most prolific team to a goalless draw.
The Scottish champions somehow kept Atalanta BC at bay in Bergamo, as veteran goalkeeper Kasper Schmeichel made seven crucial stops to preserve a point, which was added to three claimed on a memorable opening matchday.
A resounding 5-1 win over Slovan Bratislava brought the thousands packed inside Celtic Park to their feet, so after a run of 12 home games without success in UEFA’s top club competition – between 2013 and 2023 – the Hoops have now won both of the last two.
Four points not only already equals the total gained from their whole 2023 campaign, but Brendan Rodgers‘ side are also inside the top 24, which would be good enough for a playoff place at the end of the league phase.
On Saturday, Celtic reached the Scottish League Cup final with a rampant 6-0 semi-final victory over in-form Aberdeen – their nearest challengers in the league – with Daizen Maeda helping himself to a hat-trick.
They have also won nine of their 10 Premier League games so far – the sole exception being a 2-2 home draw with Aberdeen – and have now kept clean sheets in four straight games.
Defeat in Dortmund remains Celtic’s only loss in 24 games, though German opponents tend to halt them in their tracks: the Glasgow giants’ only victory in their last 16 meetings with Bundesliga teams came against none other than Leipzig in November 2018.
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These clubs have previously met four times in European competition, with Leipzig winning on the other three occasions, and the visitors sorely need to take maximum points from this week’s encounter.
Marco Rose‘s men have lost all three Champions League matches this season by a one-goal margin – 2-1 against Atletico Madrid, then 3-2 at home to Juventus and Liverpool (1-0) – after a Darwin Nunez strike consigned them to defeat last time out.
Perhaps they have been a little too reliant on one man in particular, as all three of Die Roten Bullen’s goals have been scored by Benjamin Sesko – from just 10 attempts – while his misfiring teammates have taken a total of 34 shots without finding the net.
It has been a very different story in the Bundesliga, meanwhile, as Leipzig’s unbeaten start to the domestic season was only ended by Saturday’s 2-1 reverse in Dortmund, after Sesko’s opener had given them the lead.
That setback may have halted the Saxony side’s 19-game undefeated streak in the German top flight, but it is their solitary away loss in 11 league matches.
Furthermore, they have only conceded a Bundesliga-best five goals so far and are also into DFB-Pokal’s last 16 – though it remains to be seen whether they can now transfer such form to the Champions League.
Celtic Champions League form:
Celtic form (all competitions):
RB Leipzig Champions League form:
RB Leipzig form (all competitions):
Team News
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Brendan Rodgers saw his options boosted by the return of three players on Saturday, as Adam Idah appeared as a substitute, captain Callum McGregor started for the first time since suffering an adductor injury, and Nicolas Kuhn made a goalscoring comeback.
The latter should again link up with Celtic’s main marksman Kyogo Furuhashi in the final third: the Japan international has scored three goals in his last four Champions League appearances at Parkhead.
Only three men have made more saves than Kasper Schmeichel (12) in this season’s competition, and the hosts’ goalkeeper will hope to celebrate his 38th birthday by keeping a fifth straight clean sheet.
However, he could be kept busy by Leipzig’s potent front line: Lois Openda has six Bundesliga goal involvements to his name this term, while Benjamin Sesko has tallied five in addition to his trio of Champions League strikes.
Leipzig’s own stalwart stopper, Peter Gulacsi, did not concede a league goal for 510 minutes between the end of August and late last month, setting a new club record.
The visitors are without David Raum (ankle), Xaver Schlager (knee), Castello Lukeba (thigh) and influential playmaker Xavi Simons (ankle) due to injury, but Nicolas Seiwald was back on the bench at the weekend, having recovered from a thigh problem.
Celtic possible starting lineup:
Schmeichel; Johnston, Carter-Vickers, Trusty, Taylor; Engels, McGregor, Hatate; Maeda, Furuhashi, Kuhn
RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:
Gulacsi; Geertruida, Orban, Klostermann, Henrichs; Baumgartner, Haidara, Vermeeren, Nusa; Sesko, Openda
We say: Celtic 1-2 RB Leipzig
Two teams that like to get on the front foot should provide an entertaining spectacle, but Leipzig’s defence is more watertight and could keep Celtic at arm’s length.
Defeat would not be a disaster for the Scottish champions, but victory is surely essential for their visitors, who will therefore play to win.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.