RB Leipzig vs Red Star Belgrade Prediction and Match Preview
Leipzig and Crvena Zvezda face each other at Red Bull Arena on Wednesday evening in what is expected to be a David-vs-Goliath clash.
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The Red Bulls aim to build on a 3-1 win over Darmstadt and we are positive that they will go all guns blazing at the Serbian champions.
One of the men to watch in the home team will be summer signing Lois Openda, who scored a brace at the weekend, while defender Willi Orban remains on the sidelines with a knee injury.
The Red and Whites, on the other hand, have been struggling at the back under new boss Barak Bakhar and given their poor performance in a hard-fought win over Javor Ivanjica, anything but a routine home win would be big surprise.
Korea international In-Beom Hwang should recover in time to face Leipzig, while Stefan Mitrovic is pushing for a start.
Team News:
Leipzig will continue to be without Willi Orban and El Chadaille Bitshiabu due to severe knee injuries. However, aside from these absences, they seem to have a fully-fit squad at their disposal.
Manager Rose might consider giving Hungary goalkeeper Peter Gulasci a start to help him regain match fitness after a prolonged absence due to a knee injury. Additionally, Benjamin Sesko, Dani Olmo, and Timo Werner are all in contention to start, having been named on the bench in their team’s previous victory against Darmstadt.
On the other hand, Red Star is anxiously awaiting the fitness status of their star forward, Bukari, who has scored two goals in two games in this season’s Champions League. The 24-year-old has missed his team’s last two matches due to a knock.
While Filippo Falco remains sidelined with a long-term injury, Peter Olayinka may be in line to start in the visitors’ attack, especially if Bukari is unavailable as anticipated.