Staying perfect in the 2023-24 Champions League, 14-time winners Real Madrid return their knockout campaign on Tuesday, when RB Leipzig hosts them to Germany for the opening leg of their last-16 encounter.
Los Blancos dominated the campaign to win Group C, while Marco Rose’s club finished second in Group G, trailing reigning winners Manchester City. Group G of the 2023-24 Champions League certainly mirrored the pre-tournament script, as Man City flew into the sunset with a perfect record of 18 points from six games, while RB Leipzig, as expected, held off Young Boys and Red Star Belgrade to finish second.
Die Roten Bullen lost 3-1 at home and 3-2 at the Etihad to Man City, the current winners, but they won all four of their remaining Group G games, although narrowly. Leipzig failed to keep a clean sheet in the group stage and only won 2-1 over Red Star and Young Boys before their five-goal Etihad extravaganza, but back-to-back Champions League qualification was the goal before the first ball was kicked, and the hosts now have a few mistakes to make from last year.
Leipzig’s 2022-23 European campaign ended with an 8-1 aggregate loss to Manchester City in the 2022-23 last 16, and Rose’s team lost all three of their Bundesliga matches in January before defeating Union Berlin 2-0 on February 4. Having lost 2-2 away to Augsburg, Die Roten Bullen are three points behind fourth-placed Borussia Dortmund and have not kept a clean sheet in a Champions League home encounter since October 2020.
Leipzig has finished at the correct end of the field in their last ten Champions League home games, but such defensive shortcomings are unattractive ahead of Real Madrid’s visit, who comfortably overcame their closest La Liga opponents on Saturday. Real Madrid, who already have a Supercopa de Espana, may still complete a triple in the coming months, and Ancelotti’s club was one of just two teams—with holders Manchester City—to get through the Champions League group stage without a loss.
Madrid defeated Napoli, Braga, and Union Berlin twice, although they have surrendered multiple goals in five of their last seven Champions League matches away from the Bernabeu, including two on Napoli and Union Berlin’s grounds in Group C. Real Madrid had not lost to a German team since Borussia Dortmund in the 2012-13 semi-finals, but they lost 3-2 on Leipzig’s turf in the 2022-23 group stage after beating Die Roten Bullen 2-0 at home.
RB Leipzig Team News
Leipzig head coach Rose has a nearly fully-fit squad to pick from on Tuesday, although Amadou Haidara missed the Augsburg tie with a slight knee injury and is a huge doubt for the home side at the time of writing.
Defensive combination Mohamed Simakan and Benjamin Henrichs must tread carefully this weekend, as they are both one booking away from serving a one-match Champions League ban, but the former started all six group-stage games and should be returned to the squad.
The same can be said for Castello Lukeba, albeit captain Willi Orban, who missed the entire group phase due to a catastrophic knee injury, is currently leading the Roten Bullen backline and will be considered for a starting role by Rose due to his Champions League experience.
Real Madrid Team News
Real Madrid is likewise concerned about the condition of one of their midfielders for Tuesday’s first leg, but the visitors’ issue is considerably more public, since Bellingham was forced to leave the pitch against Girona with a damaged ankle only seconds after scoring his team’s third goal.
Ancelotti declined to rule Bellingham out of the trip to Leipzig following the defeat, but the fast turnaround means that Brahim Diaz should prepare to play in the number 10 spot, while Antonio Rudiger will not return from a thigh injury in time for the midweek clash.
However, with Nacho Fernandez due to return from a muscle injury, Real will have at least one senior centre-back available for the first leg, in which ACL casualties Eder Militao, David Alaba, and Thibaut Courtois will watch helplessly once more.
Head-To-Head
The two teams have faced each other only twice with each side winning once.
Predicted Lineups
RB Leipzig: Gulacsi; Simakan, Lukeba, Orban, Raum; Olmo, Schlager, Kampl, Simons; Sesko, Openda
Real Madrid: Lunin; Carvajal, Tchouameni, Nacho, Mendy; Valverde, Kroos, Camavinga; Diaz; Vinicius Jr, Rodrygo
Real Madrid vs RB Leipzig Prediction
RB Leipzig 0-2 Real Madrid
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