A draw against RB Leipzig on Tuesday will see Real Madrid through to the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side have ten points from four games and are heavy favorites to finish top of Group F, with a final day meeting with Celtic on the cards.
Leipzig are currently second, one point ahead of Shakhtar Donetsk, and will be keen to get a result here to maintain control of their own destiny heading into the final round of fixtures.
RB Leipzig team news
Timo Werner faces a late fitness test after an illness kept him out of his side’s last three games, but even if he is passed fit, it’s unlikely that he will start.
Lukas Klostermann, Marcel Halstenberg, Konrad Laimer and Peter Gulacsi are all out through injury.
RB Leipzig predicted lineup vs Real Madrid
RB Leipzig Starting XI (4-2-3-1): Blaswich; Simakan, Orban, Gvardiol, Raum; Haidara, Schlager; Szoboszlai, Nkunku, Olmo; Silva
Bench: Nickisch, Diallo, Ba, Henrichs, Kampl, Forsberg, Novoa, Poulsen, Werner
Real Madrid team news
Luka Modric has been omitted from this one, despite initially being named in the travelling squad. No reason has been given for his absence thus far.
There could be issues in midfield as a result as Federico Valverde is also expected to miss out because of the knock he picked up against Sevilla, and Dani Ceballos remains unavailable to help out either.
Mariano Diaz is out and so is Karim Benzema, who is expected to be rested due to muscle fatigue.
Real Madrid predicted lineup vs RB Leipzig
Real Madrid Starting XI (4-3-3): Courtois; Carvajal, Militao, Rudiger, Alaba; Camavinga, Tchouameni, Kroos; Asensio, Rodrygo, Vinicius
Bench: Lunin, Lopez, Nacho, Vallejo, Mendy, Odriozola, Dotor, Hazard, Vazquez, Rodriguez
RB Leipzig vs Real Madrid score prediction
Real Madrid are tired and short on numbers. One look at that predicted bench will show you that it’s largely going to be up to the starters here, but the absence of some vital players will hurt their chances big-time.
While Leipzig aren’t full strength here either, they’ll fancy their chances of getting something and will believe they can take control as the game progresses, when Real start to get tired and the substitutes start entering the fray.
In the end, however, it’s tough to predict anything other than a Real victory, particularly with Thibaut Courtois back between the sticks.
Prediction: RB Leipzig 0-1 Real Madrid
