RB Leipzig vs Aston Villa

Red Bull Arena is the venue as RB Leipzig and Aston Villa go head-to-head in a ‘make or break’ UEFA Champions League fixture.

RB Leipzig seem back on track following a disheartening six-game winless run in all competitions (D1, L5), securing progression into the DFB-Pokal quarter-finals with a 3-0 romping of Eintracht Frankfurt before overcoming Holstein Kiel 2-0 to maintain the pressure on Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich. However, Marco Rose’s men have epically faltered in Europe this season, heading into proceedings as one of only three teams in the Champions League 36-team table yet to pick up a single point after five rounds! Facing English opposition cannot inspire much confidence, considering ‘Die Roten Bullen’ have conceded 14 goals across their last four matches against Premier League clubs, all of which ended in defeat! Another troubled evening is well on the cards when factoring in Leipzig’s disastrous 16-game run without a clean sheet in the Champions League proper (W7, D2, L7).

Meanwhile, Aston Villa’s rotten patch featuring eight successive games without a win (D3, L5) is firmly behind them after back-to-back Premier League victories reignited their top-four hopes. Back to the Champions League, where they’ve drawn a blank in their last two outings (D1, L1), Unai Emery’s men will be out to return to winning ways and solidify their pursuit of automatic knockout qualification ahead of the final two rounds. Anything other than three points would significantly derail Villa’s chances of closing the gap on the top eight and, in turn, condemn Emery to his longest winless streak in European group or league phase games with a single club since 2015. That’s easier said than done, as the Lions take this trip on a four-game losing streak away from home!