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Leipzig logo
Champions League | League Stage
Jan 22, 2025 at 5.45pm UK
Red Bull Arena
Sporting Lisbon

RB Leipzig
2 - 1
Sporting Lisbon

Sesko (19'), Poulsen (78')
Raum (79'), Vandevoordt (86'), Orban (87')
FT(HT: 1-0)
Gyokeres (75')

Preview: RB Leipzig vs. Sporting Lisbon - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Wednesday's Champions League clash between RB Leipzig and Sporting Lisbon, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.

Sporting Lisbon will look to get their Champions League campaign back on track when they face an RB Leipzig side who have already been eliminated.

Back-to-back defeats in this competition to end 2024 saw Sporting plummet down the standings, while Leipzig are rooted to the bottom, with six defeats from six.


Match preview

RB Leipzig's Christoph Baumgartner looks disconsolate on December 10, 2024© Imago

An already dismal campaign had another low at the weekend for Marco Rose's Leipzig, as they squandered a 3-0 lead to draw with bottom-of-the-table Bochum in the Bundesliga.

Being without Benjamin Sesko and Lois Openda after their red cards in the defeat at Stuttgart, Rose will have been delighted to see his men blow Bochum away inside the first 45 minutes, until a Myron Boadu hat trick hauled the hosts back level, and ultimately saw Leipzig drop out of the top four.

Their two star strikers will return here, but even with their quality, RB have been unable to pick up a single point in the Champions League so far, and another defeat here will see them equal the record for most consecutive UCL losses by a German club - currently held by Bayer Leverkusen (seven in 2002-03).

Leipzig are not alone at the bottom of the standings with zero points, though, as Swiss strugglers Young Boys and debutants Slovan Bratislava are also yet to get off the mark this season.

This will be a tricky test for a side who have been hopeless on the continent, but with Sturm Graz to come on matchday eight, Leipzig will be hugely disappointed if they end the campaign still without a point.

Die Roten Bullen's clashes with Portuguese clubs have often gone quite well, suffering just one defeat in four meetings, against Porto back in 2017.

Sporting had a very enjoyable evening the last time they visited Germany in the Champions League, though, sweeping Eintracht Frankfurt aside 3-0, but they must regain some consistency if they are to enjoy any repeat here.

Francisco Trincao of Sporting Lisbon on November 26, 2024© Imago

Form has fallen off a cliff since Ruben Amorim left for Manchester United, with his replacement Joao Pereira already sacked.

Under Pereira, Sporting lost 5-1 at home to Arsenal, and away to Club Brugge on matchday six, after Amorim had taken 10 points from a possible 12 before his departure.

That leaves the Lions on the brink of their longest losing run in this competition in almost a decade, but the positive is that results have picked up since Rui Borges was given the job just after Christmas.

Pereira suffered four straight defeats, including at home to Santa Clara, and away at Moreirense, and was then sacked on December 25, with Borges coming in and recording home wins over both Porto and Benfica.

The new manager has suffered a huge disappointment already, though, in his brief tenure, losing the Taca da Liga final to Benfica earlier this month, but a 3-0 win at Rio Ave paired with Porto's defeat at Gil Vicente this weekend means they sit three points clear at the top of the Primeira Liga.

Attention now turns to the Champions League, though, and it is likely that only one more point will be required for Sporting to be assured of a playoff spot, while two wins would give them an outside shot at breaking into the top eight, with Bologna at home to come on matchday eight.

RB Leipzig Champions League form:


RB Leipzig form (all competitions):


Sporting Lisbon Champions League form:


Sporting Lisbon form (all competitions):



Team News

RB Leipzig forward Benjamin Sesko on January 12, 2025© Imago

Leipzig are set to be without injured trio Xaver Schlager, Castello Lukeba and Andre Silva until February at the earliest, but West Ham are believed to have enquired about the latter over a potential move this month.

Yussuf Poulsen returned after two months out injured at the weekend, but a place on the bench is likely for him, with Sesko and Openda available again after suspension.

Benjamin Henrichs will miss the rest of the season with a serious leg injury, so new signing Ridle Baku has stepped in and started the last two games at right wing-back in his place.

Pedro Goncalves is set to be the big miss for Sporting after he did not take part in training ahead of this encounter.

Potentially joining Goncalves on the sidelines are defensive trio Eduardo Quaresma, Nuno Santos and Matheus Reis, with all three also being absent from training, but Viktor Gyokeres should return to the starting XI after scoring as a late sub at the weekend, notching a sixth goal in four games.

Sporting have already entered the transfer market this month too, signing Real Betis keeper Rui Silva on loan for the rest of the season, and he has instantly taken the place of Franco Israel, on his return to Portugal after eight years in Spain.


RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:
Gulacsi; Geertruida, Orban, Klostermann; Baku, Vermeeren, Seiwald, Raum; Simons, Openda, Sesko

Sporting Lisbon possible starting lineup:
Rui Silva; Fresneda, Diomande, St Juste, Quenda; Catamo, Morita, Hjulmand; Trincao, Gyokeres, Araujo


SM words green background

We say: RB Leipzig 2-3 Sporting Lisbon

Entertainment is often assured when Leipzig are involved, but none of that has gone in their favour in this Champions League campaign so far.

A few weeks ago, Sporting were losing every time they took to the field, but results have steadily improved and they will feel confident of returning to form on the continent here to make sure of their spot in the knockouts.


For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.




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Written by
Andrew Delaney

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Game History

How you voted: RB Leipzig vs Sporting Lisbon

RB Leipzig
31.4%
Draw
15.3%
Sporting Lisbon
53.3%
261
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RB Leipzig forward Benjamin Sesko on January 12, 2025
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TeamPWDLPTS
QLiverpool870121
QInter Milan861119
QBarcelona861119
QArsenal861119
QAtletico860218
QB. Leverkusen851216
QAston Villa851216
QLille851216
9Real Madrid850315
10AC Milan850315
11Atalanta843115
12Dortmund850315
13Bayern850315
14PSV842214
15Benfica841313
16Feyenoord841313
17PSG841313
18Monaco841313
19Brest841313
20Juventus833212
21Celtic833212
22Man City832311
23Sporting Lisbon832311
24Brugge832311
25Dinamo Zagreb832311
26Stuttgart831410
27Shakhtar82157
28Bologna81346
29Red Star82066
30Sturm Graz82066
31Sparta Prague81164
32RB Leipzig81073
33Girona81073
34Salzburg81073
35Slovan Bratislava80080
36Young Boys80080


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