RB Leipzig vs Rangers Match Analysis and Prediction

5 years ago 656

RB Leipzig will be hosting Rangers at the Red Bull Arena on Thursday for the first leg of their Europa League semi-finals tie.

The hosts are currently sitting fourth in the Bundesliga standings after picking up 54 points from their 31 matches played so far, 21 points adrift of league leaders Bayern Munich.

The Red Bull enter the contest off the back of a 2-1 defeat at the hands of Union Berlin on Saturday. Yussuf Poulsen put Leipzig on the lead in the 46th minute before Sven Michel restored parity in the 86th minute. Kevin Behrens then scored the winner in the 89th minute to condemn the hosts to a defeat in front of their own supporters.

They now turn their attention to the Europa League where they defeated Atalanta 3-1 on aggregate in the quarter-finals to advance to the semi-finals.

After playing out a 1-1 draw in the first leg at home, they secured a 2-0 victory in the return match, with Christopher Nkunku the only player on the scoresheet in the second leg, scoring a brace.

Meanwhile, Rangers enter the contest sitted second in the Premiership table boasting 79 points from 34 matches played, six points behind leaders Celtic and 19 points clear of third-placed Hearts.

In their last game in the Premiership action, they ran out 3-1 victors against Motherwell. Liam Kelly put Rangers ahead with an own goal in the 14th minute before Ross Tierney equalised in the 35th minute, but Scott Wright restored the lead while James Tavernier nettet from the spot in the 62nd minute to seal the victory.

Rangers defeated Sporting Braga 3-2 on aggreagate in the qaurter-finals. They overcame a one-goal first-leg deficit with a 3-1 extra-time victory in the return match at home, with James Tavernier scoring an eye-catching brace in the second leg.

RB Leipzig vs Rangers head to head

The two teams have previously met on only one occasion in a Club Friendlies game back in 2017, where RB Leipzig picked up a 4-0 victory at home. They now meet for the first time in a competitive match, in the first leg of their Europa League semi-finals tie.

RB Leipzig 4-0 Rangers 15/01/17

RB Leipzig latest home form

RB Leipzig lost their last home game 2-1 to Union Berlin in the league. However, they have recently been on a good run of form at home, having been unbeaten in their ten matches prior to that. In their last five matches, they have scored seven goals and conceded four.

RB Leipzig 0-0 Eintracht Frankfurt 20/03/22

RB Leipzig 1-1 Atalanta 07/04/22

RB Leipzig 3-0 Hoffenheim 10/04/22

RB Leipzig 2-1 Union Berlin 20/04/22

RB Leipzig 1-2 Union Berlin 23/04/22

RB Leipzig latest away form

RB Leipzig have recently been on an impressive run of form on the road, having won each of their eight most recent matches. In their last away game, they defeated Bayer Leverkusen 1-0 in the league. In their last five matches, they have scored 17 goals and conceded just two.

Hannover 96 0-4 RB Leipzig 02/03/22

Greuther Furth 1-6 RB Leipzig 13/03/22

Borussia Dortmund 1-4 RB Leipzig 02/04/22

Atalanta 0-2 RB Leipzig 14/04/22

Bayer Leverkusen 0-1 RB Leipzig 17/04/22

Rangers latest home form

Rangers have recently been on a good run of form at home, as they have lost just one of their ten most recent matches. They defeated Sporting Braga 3-1 after extra time in the Europa League on April 14. In their last five matches, they have scored 10 goals and conceded five.

Rangers 2-2 Motherwell 27/02/22

Rangers 1-0 Aberdeen 05/03/22

Rangers 3-0 Red Star Belgrade 10/03/22

Rangers 1-2 Celtic 03/04/22

Rangers (E)3-1 Sporting Braga 14/04/22

Rangers latest away form

Rangers have recently been on a good run of form on the road, having won each of their three most recent matches. They managed to defeat Celtic 2-1 after extra time on April 17 in the Scottish Cup. In their last five matches, they have scored 11 goals and conceded four.

Dundee 1-2 Rangers 20/03/22

Sporting Braga 1-0 Rangers 07/04/22

St. Mirren 0-4 Rangers 10/04/22

Celtic 1-2(E) Rangers 17/04/22

Motherwell 1-3 Rangers 23/04/22

RB Leipzig news

RB Leipzig will be missing the services of the trio of Mohamed Simakan, Willi Orban and Kevin Kampl, as they remain suspended for a game each.

Lucas Klostermann remains out of contention until early May due to COVID-19 infection, while Amadou Haidara is absent until Mid May with a knee injury.

Rangers news

Kemar Roofe will sit out until early May and Ianis Hagi is out for the season both with knee injuries, while Nnamdi Ofoborh is nearing his return from heart problems.

Both Filip Helander and Alfredo Morelos will also be out for the season with a foot and thigh injury respectively.

Prediction and Odds

Rangers enter the contest with some encouragement from the most recent record across all competitions, but they are certainly to find it difficult putting goals past their hosts.

RB Leipzig have the ability to create a lot of chances and convert them to goals, and we back them for a win.

Odds: 1 1.90 X 2.00 2 2.20