In this article…
Celtic v RB Leipzig
📅
Kick Off: Tuesday 5th November at 20:00
🏆
Competition: UEFA Champions League
📺
Watch Live: TNT Sports 2
Celtic have started their Champions League campaign with some promise yet face a major test as RB Leipzig come calling to Glasgow on Tuesday.
Brendan Rodgers’ side have won four points from a possible nine, yet their only previous loss this season came spectacularly against Bundesliga opponents in the form of Borussia Dortmund, who thumped them 7-1 in Germany.
Leipzig, meanwhile, come into this match after losing their undefeated record domestically against BVB at the weekend, while they are pointless thus far in the Champions League and are desperate for a victory.
⭐ Celtic v RB Leipzig Best Bets
RB Leipzig left winger Antonio Nusa isn’t typically a prolific foul maker, but he finds himself in direct competition with Alistair Johnston, who has won at least two fouls in nine of his 12 starts for Celtic this season.
Johnston has won at least two fouls in each of his three Champions League matches this season.
Nusa is liable to find himself in regular contact with the Canadian due to Leipzig’s injury issues prior to this game. He has committed at least one foul in three of his last four starts, including three against Dortmund at the weekend.
👕 Celtic v RB Leipzig Predicted XI
🔍 Celtic v RB Leipzig Players to Watch
🟢 Daizen Maeda
Maeda comes into this game off the back of a stellar performance against Aberdeen in which he scored a hat-trick and created another.
Across all competitions, he is Celtic’s top scorer with nine goals, and with three Champions League shots on target (including two goals), none of his teammates can surpass that tally.
Where Kyogo Furuhashi is typically less effective in Europe, Maeda remains just as strong and is a good price to simply hit the target here.
Has a shot on target in seven of ten Celtic starts this season, including two of three in the Champions League.
🟢 Liam Scales
Liam Scales is likely to start at centre-back for Celtic in this clash and will find himself up against prolific foul winner Lois Openda. No one has collected more than his 24 fouls won for Leipzig this season, which ties Xavi Simons as his side’s leading figure in all competitions.
For his part, Scales has committed one foul each in Champions League clashes against Dortmund and Atalanta, which are more representative of the quality of opponent Celtic will face here than Slovan Bratislava, who he emerged foul-free against.
⚪ Benjamin Sesko
Sesko has been Leipzig’s chief threat in the Champions League and has been particularly lively in all competitions in recent matches.
He has had a shot on target for club or country in 12 of his last 14 appearances, while his one effort on goal against Dortmund at the weekend stopped a run of four successive matches in which he had managed at least two shots on target.
He already has five shots on target in the Champions League – no other RB Leipzig player has more than two.
📂 Celtic v RB Leipzig Cheat Sheet
The fourth matchweek of the Champions League is littered with action and our signature football betting predictions are on hand to help. Make sure to check out our Champions League accumulator tips and Champions League bet builder tips.
We also have a selection of both teams to score tips, along with player prop market predictions to fold into bet builders, like our card betting tips, player shots on target tips, fouls betting tips, and anytime goalscorer tips.
💻 Celtic v RB Leipzig Form and Tactics
Celtic come into this match off the back of three successive domestic wins, during which they have scored 11 goals and conceded none. At the weekend, they smashed Aberdeen, second in the Premiership, 6-0 in League Cup action.
The Hoops have traditionally had issues, though, when it has come to adapt to European competition. Going from dominant in Scotland to dominated on the continent, Celtic have struggled for years to cope with their underdog status.
Never was this more evident than in Dortmund, but for all the magnitude and embarrassment of their 7-1 loss, it should be flagged that they were only edged 2.6-2.2 in terms of xG. Indeed, their 0-0 draw in Atalanta was more lopsided in favour of the hosts in Italy.
At home, they are typically a tougher proposition. Last term, they held Atletico Madrid 2-2 and beat Feyenoord 2-1, while they have already overcome Slovan Bratislava 5-1 this term.
RB Leipzig have been the victims of a fiendish fixture list in the Champions League, the type of which can be thrown up in this competition. One-goal defeats have come against Atletico Madrid, Juventus and Liverpool. With Inter away and Aston Villa at home to follow, they need a positive result in Glasgow.
Although Marco Rose’s side were defeated by Dortmund at the weekend, the signs are that they should be able to achieve it.
Leipzig are a side that are strong in transition. Typically, they have less of the ball than their opponents but maximise their use of it. Curiously, though, they have only twice created more than 1.9xG in the Bundesliga and Champions League this season.
While Benjamin Sesko typically wins the headlines, Lois Openda is their most dangerous striker, leading the club in shots and shots on target in the Bundesliga, all the while possessing a positive xG.
Xavi Simons is their chief playmaker but left wing-back David Raum, whose 2.5xAG only narrowly trails the Dutchman’s 2.7xAG in the creative stakes, is another key figure, with 81.5 crosses per game. Both miss out injured, so Leipzig are without their two chief creators in Glasgow.
At the weekend, they went 4-4-2 against Dortmund in a bid to conquer this problem, but despite the individual talents of winger Antonio Nusa, they were notably weaker than usual.
Get best bets sent to your inbox, it’s free.
🏁 Celtic v RB Leipzig Ref Watch
- Referee: Benoit Bastien (France)
- Awarded 48 cards in 10 matches (4.8 per game) this season but just two in his last Champions League match.
- Has given nine penalties in these fixtures at 0.9 per match. Seven of these have come in five Ligue 1 games.
- Averages 24.75 fouls per match in the eight games statistics are available for.
Football Predictions at Andy’s Bet Club
Our guide on how to use a Cheat Sheet is the perfect way to get involved with our bet builder stats tool, the best freely available data source for punting on the Premier League.
We recommend the best betting sites for accumulators, top bet builder sites, and the best free bet offers and weekly free bet clubs, all to ensure you bet smarter when backing our tips with the best UK sports betting sites.
Also check out our list of free Champions League betting offers, and expert guides including xG in football, are also available to help you up your punting game.
* I recommend waiting for confirmed team line-ups before placing any bets.
* All odds displayed correct at the time of publishing.
Written by an Andy verified content writer
18+ please gamble responsibly.
