Will RB Leipzig overwinter in the Champions League? On Tuesday in Glasgow (live ticker and radio report from 9 p.m.) this question will not be answered definitively, but the first steps will be taken. The captains of both teams are not involved.
OP instead of CL: Leipzig’s captain Peter Gulacsi has had a successful knee operation and has to watch his team’s Champions League game on TV. The Hungarian had in the first leg a week ago torn cruciate ligament. Glasgow captain Callum McGregor suffered a similar fate. He also injured his knee in the game and is out for the time being.
Test in the cauldron
In any case, the Leipzig goal will be back Janis Blaswich stand. The 31-year-old made his first appearance in the Champions League last week and delivered just as flawlessly as he did at 1:1 last Saturday in Mainz. As a former Dresdener, Blaswich is used to narrow and noisy stadiums. But he probably hasn’t experienced an atmosphere like that in Glasgow either.
It will be exciting to see how the keeper, who has been promoted to number 1, will deal with it. Many of his teammates had their problems in the Scottish metropolis: three years ago in the first duel in “Celtic Park” (1-2 defeat) and also last May in front of a no less noisy crowd from Celtic’s local rivals Glasgow Rangers (1:3 defeat).
Emil Forsberg was there this time
Incidentally, Marcel Halstenberg, who is out with rib problems, cannot use his experience from back then. The left-back is one of four Leipzigers who were there three years ago. In addition to him, there were Willi Orban, Kevin Kampl and Lukas Klostermann, who was not deployed at the time and is currently injured.
Emil Forsberg, who did not travel with us in November 2018 and was not deployed in May, will be there. His recipe for three points in Glasgow’s “paradise”: “We have to go there with the conviction that we can win. We have to rely on our quality.”
RB coach Marco Rose: “It’s going to be wild”
RB definitely has said quality, but probably also the tactical advantage. Because Celtic are doomed to win and will tackle the game very stormy in front of their home crowd. Leipzig, on the other hand, will rather rely on counterattacks. This constellation is as if painted for the fast strikers Timo Werner and Christopher Nkunku. It is quite possible that André Silva, who was successful twice in the first leg, will only sit on the bench for a lack of speed.
But no matter who is in the starting eleven on Tuesday evening: In order to survive at Celtic Park, RB Leipzig must act with more efficiency than before. With more power and a lot of self-confidence. Coach Marco Rose: “It can be assumed that things will go wild, that it will be wild.”
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sid/dpa/red
