RB Leipzig and Liverpool set for tense first-leg encounter
RB Leipzig vs Liverpool - 16/02/2021
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Budapest’s Puskas Arena is the venue for the first leg of RB Leipzig and Liverpool’s UEFA Champions League Round of 16 clash on Tuesday.
A neutral venue has been selected to host the first competitive meeting between these two teams due to the ongoing coronavirus restrictions in Germany and England.
RB Leipzig came through a tough group to reach the knockout stages, finishing three points ahead of third-place Manchester United and level on 12 points with first-place PSG.
The German side won four of their six group matches, beating both PSG and Man Utd, as well as doing the double over Istanbul Basaksehir.
Domestically, Leipzig have only lost three of their 21 Bundesliga games this term, keeping them within touching distance of Bayern Munich.
Julian Nagelsmann’s side head into Tuesday’s match on the back of three straight Bundesliga wins, scoring six goals while keeping two clean sheets in that time.
Let’s not forget that Leipzig knocked out English opponents in last season’s Round of 16, seeing off Tottenham 4-0 on aggregate.
Meanwhile, Liverpool also picked up four wins during the group stage, getting the better of Ajax, Midtjylland and Atalanta to finish two points clear at the top of Group D.
However, things have not been going to plan for Jurgen Klopp’s men in terms of defending their Premier League title.
The Reds have only managed to win two of their previous ten league games, recording three draws and five defeats since Christmas.
Worse still, Liverpool have lost five of their last eight leagues games and head into Tuesday’s match on a three-game losing streak.
Goalkeeper Alisson was at fault for two goals as Liverpool lost 1-4 to Man City, before he made another error in the Reds’ 3-1 defeat to Leicester on Saturday.
Liverpool are now 13 points behind Man City in the Premier League, while the leaders also have a game in hand over the defending champs.
Head-to-head: As we know, RB Leipzig and Liverpool have never faced each other before, meaning we have no previous results to assess for this fixture.
Team news: Leipzig will be without Fabrice Hartmann, Konrad Laimer and Emil Forsberg on Tuesday, while Benjamin Henrichs and Dominik Szoboszlai are all doubts.
Liverpool’s lengthy injury list includes Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip, Diogo Jota, Naby Keita, Fabinho, Divock Origi, Caoimhin Kelleher, Ben Davies and James Milner.
Liverpool have not been on a good run of late, but they should have enough quality to hold out for a draw in the first leg
Forebet predicts that RB Leipzig and Liverpool will produce a low-scoring draw on Tuesday.
Home team
Away team
Pred
Correct score
Avg. goals
Weather conditions
Coef.
Score
Live
coef.
UCL
333532
X
1 - 1
2.49
2°
3.65
3.14
3.65
2.29
1
1
-1
0 - 2(0 - 0)
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