Celtic vs RB Leipzig Match Analysis and Prediction

2 years ago 554

Less than a week after meeting in Germany, Celtic and RB Leipzig reconvene on Tuesday, with both teams having some catching up to do in Champions League Group F.

The Hoops lost 3-1 at Red Bull Arena and sit bottom of the section on just one point from three matches. So, victory is essential if they are to overtake Leipzig and contend for a spot in the knockout round.

Losing for the sixth time in their last seven Champions League matches, Celtic’s weaknesses were exposed last Wednesday, as they lost to an RB Leipzig side struggling for form this season.

Celtic have lost 17 of their last 23 games at the Champions League, which demonstrates the difficulty faced by Ange Postecoglou’s side when stepping up in class, but they at least managed to get back on track straight away with a Premiership victory at the weekend.

The Hoops’ chances of progressing from a Champions League group for the first time in a decade hangs by a thread, and they are almost totally reliant on getting the better of third-placed Leipzig on Tuesday.

Having lost on both of their previous visits to Scotland, RB Leipzig will need no reminder that a tough task awaits them at Parkhead in midweek.

With Real Madrid likely set to sprint off into the distance, a place in the knockout rounds is up for grabs among the group’s other three contestants, which makes at least avoiding defeat in Glasgow a clear objective for new manager Marco Rose.

A 4-1 defeat in Leipzig’s Champions League opener to Shakhtar Donetsk ended predecessor Domenico Tedesco’s reign, and since Rose’s arrival, their inconsistency has continued.

However, they have now put together a three-game unbeaten run, with their victory last Wednesday being sandwitched by a 4-0 win over Bochum and Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Mainz.

Celtic vs RB Leipzig head to head

These two teams have previously met on just three occasions in two competitions, where Celtic have claimed one victory while Leipzig have won two. Celtic have scored three goals and conceded six in the process.

RB Leipzig 2-0 Celtic 25/10/18

Celtic 2-1 RB Leipzig 08/11/18

RB Leipzig 3-1 Celtic 05/10/22

Celtic latest home form

Celtic have recently been on a good run of form at home, as they have lost just one of their 11 most recent matches. They managed to defeat Motherwell 2-1 in their last home game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 10 goals and conceded four.

Celtic 2-0 Aberdeen 31/07/22

Celtic 2-0 Hearts 21/08/22

Celtic 4-0 Rangers 03/09/22

Celtic 0-3 Real Madrid 06/09/22

Celtic 2-1 Motherwell 01/10/22

Celtic latest away form

Celtic have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having won just two of their five most recent matches. They defeated St. Johnstone 2-1 in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored eight goals and also conceded eight.

Ross County 1-4 Celtic 31/08/22

Shakhtar Donetsk 1-1 Celtic 14/09/22

St. Mirren 2-0 Celtic 18/09/22

RB Leipzig 3-1 Celtic 05/10/22

St. Johnstone 1-2 Celtic 08/10/22

RB Leipzig latest home form

RB Leipzig have recently been on a relatively good run of form at home, having lost just one of their six most recent matches. They defeated Celtic 3-1 in their last home game in the Champions League. In their last five matches, they have scored 13 goals and conceded five.

RB Leipzig 2-0 Wolfsburg 27/08/22

RB Leipzig 1-4 Shakhtar Donetsk 06/09/22

RB Leipzig 3-0 Borussia Dortmund 10/09/22

RB Leipzig 4-0 Bochum 01/10/22

RB Leipzig 3-1 Celtic 05/10/22

RB Leipzig latest away form

RB Leipzig have recently failed to keep a good run of form on the road, having lost three of their five most recent matches. They drew 1-1 with Mainz 05 in their last away game in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored nine goals and conceded 10.

Teutonia Ottensen 0-8 RB Leipzig 30/08/22

Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0 RB Leipzig 03/09/22

Real Madrid 2-0 RB Leipzig 14/09/22

Borussia M’gladbach 3-0 RB Leipzig 17/09/22

Mainz 1-1 RB Leipzig 08/10/22

Celtic news

Celtic captain Callum McGregor suffered a knee injury at Red Bull Arena on Tuesday and is set to be out of action until next month.

Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda should come back into the side, while Cameron Carter-Vickers will be involved here after he recently joined Aaron Mooy in returning to full training.

RB Leipzig news

RB Leipzig also lost their captain to a serious injury during the reverse fixture, and goalkeeper Peter Gulasci will be replaced by Janis Blaswich at Parkhead.

Dominik Szoboszlai, Andre Silva, Christopher Nkunku and Timo Werner should form a dangerous attacking quartet for the visitors, while midfielder Emil Forsberg in another option for Rose.

Prediction and Odds

Both sides have failed to string together a sustained sequaence of results recently, so it may be an open affair between two sides looking for wins.

Due to their extra individual quality in attack, RB Leipzig could condemn Celtic to another Champions League defeat, and end to the Hoops’ dreams of the last 16.

Odds: 1 2.30 X 2.05 2 2.21