Operation London proved to be a resounding success for RB Leipzig as they escaped the scene with an away goal in hand and a strong starting position heading into the second leg against Tottenham Hotspur. Despite the lead, Julian Nagelsmann’s side believe they should have come away with more and will look to finish the job at the Red Bull Arena on Tuesday.
Albeit not in great form themselves, Die Roten Bullen face Tottenham at an ideal time because José Mourinho’s side have kept just two clean sheets in 15 matches since the turn of the year and are without one since February 2, meanwhile a 1-1 draw away to Burnley at the weekend put an end to a four-game losing streak that included an FA Cup defeat to Norwich City.
This will be last season’s runners-up first trip to Leipzig since a 2-1 win against Lokomotive Leipzig in the 1974 UEFA Cup semi-finals and the team will aiming to achieve a better result and overturn the current deficit to progress. However, Mourinho has an undesirable record against German opposition in his managerial career, losing ten and drawing three of 20 encounters.
Since winning at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium last month and thrashing Schalke 04 5-0 away, Leipzig have stumbled in the title race in recent weeks with back-to-back draws against Bayer Leverkusen and Wolfsburg. Despite the results, Leipzig have solidified in defence, conceding once in the past six matches, and will be looking to build on this foundation in order to create further history for the club and reach the quarter-finals.
Nagelsmann has the luxury of Dayot Upamecano returning to his line-up after he served a suspension in the first leg, whereas Tottenham face further injury woes as it has been announced that Steven Bergwijn will join Harry Kane and Son Heung-min on the sidelines for this match as he sustained a sprained ankle at the weekend.
Match Information
Date: Tuesday, March 10, 2020
Kick–off: 21:00 (CET)
Venue: Red Bull Arena
Referee: Carlos del Cerro Grande
Broadcasting: BT Sport 2 (United Kingdom), Sky Sport 2 (Germany)
Head-to-Head
19.02.20: Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 RB Leipzig
Current Form
RB Leipzig
Werder Bremen 3-0 (H) | Tottenham Hotspur 0-1 (A) | Schalke 04 0-5 (A) | Bayer Leverkusen 1-1- (H) | Wolfsburg 0-0 (A)
Tottenham Hotspur
RB Leipzig 0-1 (H) | Chelsea 2-1 (A) | Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-3 (H) | Norwich City 1-1 (2-3) (H) | Burnley 1-1 (A)
Team News
RB Leipzig
Injured: Willi Orban (knee), Ibrahima Konaté (hip)
Doubtful: Ethan Ampadu (back)
Tottenham Hotspur
Injured: Steven Bergwijn (ankle), Moussa Sissoko (knee), Son Heung-min (arm), Harry Kane (thigh)
Predicted Line-ups
RB Leipzig
Gulácsi – Klostermann, Upamecano, Halstenberg – Mukiele, Sabitzer, Laimer, Nkunku, Angeliño – Schick, Werner. (3-5-2)
Tottenham Hotspur
Lloris – Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Tanganga – Aurier, Fernandes, Dier, Alli, Davies – Lamela, Lucas. (3-5-2)
Press Conference
Lukas Klostermann: “It’s a special game, but I’m not more nervous than normal. We made a good start in the first leg. We really want to win tomorrow and get through to the next round! Spurs have a dangerous team. They are a strong on the break. We did well in the first leg, and I’m sure we’ll do well tomorrow!”
Source: Twitter.com/RBLeipzig_EN
Julian Nagelsmann: “Each one of us will push themselves to the limit tomorrow. It’s not often that you play Spurs in the Champions League Round of 16 and have the chance to progress to the quarter-finals.”
Source: Twitter.com/RBLeipzig_EN
Toby Alderweireld: “We have to take the positives out of the second half [versus Burnley]. It shows there is still a lot of spirit in this team. We’re fighting and we have to take this energy, this vibe, from the second half and take it into Leipzig on Tuesday. In a difficult away game, and after a difficult first half, we changed it and if we play like that, I think we have a good chance there.”
Source: Tottenham Hotspur
Score Prediction
RB Leipzig 2-1 Tottenham Hotspur
