UEFA Champions League: RB Leipzig vs Real Madrid Live
Preview
Real Madrid, who have a perfect record in the 2023-24 Champions League, will start their knockout phase by playing against RB Leipzig in Germany for the first leg of the last-16 tie. Real Madrid topped Group C, while RB Leipzig finished second in Group G behind Manchester City, the reigning champions.
Group G of the 2023-24 Champions League played out as expected, with Manchester City dominating and RB Leipzig securing the runner-up position. Despite losing to Manchester City, RB Leipzig won their other group stage matches, although not always convincingly. Their goal of reaching the knockout stages was achieved, but they have some past defeats to avenge. In the previous season, RB Leipzig was eliminated by Manchester City, and they have struggled in domestic matches as well. They head into the next stage of the Champions League with a recent draw and a lack of clean sheets in home fixtures.
Real Madrid easily defeated their closest rivals in La Liga, Girona, with a record-breaking performance from Jude Bellingham and goals from Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo. Real Madrid has already won the Supercopa de Espana in the 2023-24 season and could potentially achieve a treble in the coming months. They were one of only two teams, along with Man City, to go through the Champions League group stage without dropping any points. Despite their strong performance, Real Madrid has conceded multiple goals in five of their last seven Champions League away matches.
Head-to-head
RB Leipzig and Real Madrid faced off in the group stage of the last UEFA Champions League season. Each team secured a win in the matches. RB Leipzig won 3-2 in their home game against Real Madrid in October 2022.
Prediction
Due to the unexpected absence of the key player Bellingham, it would require a brave individual to predict the outcome of Tuesday’s first match. However, Los Blancos have continued to display strong attacking performances during Bellingham’s occasional absences this season. Leipzig has a history of conceding goals at home in the Champions League, and their underwhelming form since the winter break makes it hard to imagine them repeating last season’s success over Los Blancos at the Red Bull Arena. Therefore, we believe that Los Blancos will likely take a narrow lead back to Madrid for the second leg.
