The Europa League group phase edges ever closer for RB Leipzig as they prepare for a third qualifying round double-header versus Universitatea Craiova with a potential play-off versus Braga or Zorya Luhansk in mind.
This will be Craiova’s first appearance in Europe this season, but they do not come into the fixture in the best vein of form. Four games into their domestic without a win (two draws, two defeats) and three places off the base of the table, the Romanian side must be dreading the thought of facing German opposition in their current state, as their record isn’t something to boast about, with two wins, two draws and six defeats. However, the last encounter with one came against Borussia Dortmund in 1990.
Die Roten Bullen have reached this stage in the competition thanks to a 5-1 aggregate win over Häcken in the previous round, but despite the scoreline, Leipzig were far from convincing on their trip to Sweden and made life hard for themselves. On an artificial pitch, Rangnick’s side found it hard to maintain possession, create scoring opportunities and a defensive error lead to a Häcken equaliser late on in a 1-1 draw. The next day, Leipzig were beaten 3-0 by Huddersfield Town in Austria, with Timo Werner, Yussuf Poulsen and Yvon Mvogo making their first appearances since returning.
Marcel Sabitzer and Nordi Mukiele return to the squad after their respective injuries, Emil Forsberg missed training the other day as his wife gave birth but he is contention to start and Stefan Ilsanker is available again after suspension. Dayot Upamecano and Konrad Laimer remain sidelined.
Match Information
Date: Thursday, August 9, 2018
Kick-off: 18:30 (CEST)
Venue: Red Bull Arena
Referee: Paweł Gil (Poland)
Broadcasting: DAZN (Germany)
Current Form
RB Leipzig
1919 Grimma 0-7 (A) | Meuselwitz 2-2 (A) | Häcken 4-0 (H) | Häcken 1-1 (A) | Huddersfield Town 0-3 (H)
Universitatea Craiova
Wacker Innsbruck II 0-4 (A) | Cluj 1-0 (A) | Politehnica Iași 0-0 (H) | Sepsi 1-0 (A) | Botoșani 2-2 (H)
Team News
RB Leipzig
Injured: Dayot Upamecano
Absent: Konrad Laimer
Universitatea Craiova
Injured: Ivan Martić | Fausto Rossi | Radoslav Dimitrov
Predicted Line-ups
RB Leipzig
Mvogo
Klostermann – Konaté – Orban – Saracchi
Kampl – Demme
Bruma – Forsberg
Cunha – Augustin
Universitatea Craiova
Pigliacelli
Popa – Gardoș – Ferreira
Gheorghe – Mateiu – Cicâldău – Bancu
Mihăilă – Burlacu – Mitriță
Score Prediction
RB Leipzig 3-0 Universitatea Craiova
