On Wednesday, January 22, in the 7th stage of the UEFA Champions League, RB Leipzig will face Sporting. The clash begins at 6:45 PM Central European Time. I recommend wagering on the total count of goals in this match.
Intriguing details about the game and past encounters
Sporting is undefeated in seven straight fixtures across all tournaments, excluding added time. The last six games featuring RB Leipzig have all included over two goals. Sporting has triumphed in just one of their previous five away fixtures. This will be the inaugural encounter between these two squads.
Match overview
Though it’s only January, RB Leipzig can already label this season a letdown. In the Bundesliga, Marco Rose’s group occupies fifth after 18 stages, trailing the top four by a single point. However, any aspirations of vying for the crown are firmly over.
Over the weekend, the “Bulls” surged 3-0 against Bochum, the Bundesliga’s last-place club, only to relinquish their edge in a 3-3 stalemate. Before that, Leipzig fell to Stuttgart (1-2) and overcame Werder Bremen (4-2).
Their Champions League journey has been even poorer. Leipzig is already out of playoff qualification, despite having two fixtures left to contest. Marco Rose’s squad has dropped all six matches so far, ranking above solely Slovan Bratislava and Young Boys, who likewise have no points.
Sporting’s campaign began flawlessly under Ruben Amorim before his shift to Manchester United. Ex-youth team trainer João Pereira stepped up, but performances plummeted under his leadership. Now, Sporting is on its third manager of the season, Rui Borges, who joined from Vitória Guimarães.
Under Borges, Sporting has reclaimed the summit of the league. With 44 points, the “Lions” lead Benfica by three. In his introduction, Borges guided Sporting to a 1-0 triumph over Benfica, followed by a captivating 4-4 tie with Vitória Guimarães and a 3-0 success over Rio Ave. Sporting also advanced to the Portuguese League Cup final, where they narrowly fell to Benfica in a penalty shootout.
In the Champions League, Sporting had a stellar beginning, earning 10 points from their first four encounters, highlighted by an astonishing 4-1 triumph over Manchester City. However, consecutive losses to Arsenal (1-5) and Club Brugge (1-2) have demoted them to 17th in the rankings.
Likely lineups
RB Leipzig: Vandevoordt, Geertruida, Orban, Bitshiabu, Raum, Seiwald, Haidara, Baumgartner, Nusa, Šeško, Openda.
Sporting: Rui Silva, Quaresma, Diomande, St. Juste, Araújo, Catamo, Morita, Hjulmand, Quenda, Gyökeres, Trincão.
Forecast for RB Leipzig vs Sporting
The Portuguese titleholders are powerful in offense, while RB Leipzig has faltered defensively in recent weeks. My forecast is that this game will include over two goals.