RB Leipzig vs Red Star Belgrade

RB Leipzig will be keen to return to winning ways in the Champions League when they encounter Red Star Belgrade at the Red Bull Arena.

Leipzig’s bid to secure a fourth-ever qualification for the Champions League knockouts and second in a row was off to a flying start as they humbled Young Boys 3-1 on the road on the opening matchday before slipping to an identical home defeat to Manchester City last time out. The same scoreline determined their Bundesliga contest against newly-promoted Darmstadt at the weekend, halting their disappointing run of four consecutive matches without winning across all competitions (D2, L2). Marco Rose’s men should be confident about making it two victories on the trot, knowing they’ve emerged victorious in five of their last six Champions League group stage fixtures (L1). High scoring has been a common theme in Leipzig’s recent games, as five of their last six have seen over 3.5 goals and both teams scoring.

In the meantime, Red Star spurned a halftime lead in a 3-1 away defeat to Man City in their opening Group G outing. Another fast start saw them lead at the break against Young Boys last time out, only for the Swiss side to eke out a 2-2 draw in Belgrade. Barak Bahar’s men have got back to winning ways after another underwhelming European night, stringing together three consecutive wins in domestic competitions, including a 3-2 home triumph over Javor Ivanjica last weekend to stay within striking distance of arch-rivals Partizan Belgrade in the Serbian SuperLiga. However, the record-time Serbian champions have underperformed in Europe, losing their last seven Champions League group stage fixtures, six of which saw them go down via multi-goal margins. Another poor result would probably end their hopes of making it out of the competition’s group stages, a feat they’ve failed to achieve in both previous forays.