Red Bull Salzburg will be aiming to set-up a blockbuster showdown with Liverpool on Matchday 6 but standing in their way are Belgian champions Genk at the Luminus Arena on Wednesday.
Despite a blistering start the group stages; a 6-2 win over Genk, the Austrians have only managed to add one point to their tally in the subsequent three matches, but qualification is still in their own hands. Just.
Anything less than a win will see them eliminated from the competition, alongside Genk, but three points will mean it's still all to play for on December 10th when Liverpool come calling. Arguably, they'll be hoping for a Napoli victory on Merseyside in order that they're not left relying on Genk to take something in the south of Italy on the final matchday.
Either way, they just need to focus on taking all three points in Genk.
After a run of five defeats in seven matches Genk parted company with coach Felice Mazzù a fortnight ago. He was replaced by Hannes Wolf, who's first game in charge, a 2-2 draw with Mouscron, saw them slip further down the table to 9th.
Genk have failed spectacularly to build upon their title success last and now find themselves 14 points behind Club Brugge after just 15 games. They've now won only two of their last ten matches in all competitions (D3 L5) and won just one of their last four at home.
They've already conceded 23 goals in the league – compare that to the 31 conceded in 30 matches en route to title success last season. In the Champions League they've now conceded 12 in their four group games. These stats don't bode well ahead of the visit of one, if not the most prolific team in Europe.
Step forward, Red Bull Salzburg.
They've banged in a staggering 58 goals in 15 games in the league so far, crafting an unbeaten start to their campaign.In total they've now scored 84 in 22 matches in all comeptitions.
The spearhead of their goalscoring exploits is of course, 19-year-old Erling Braut Haaland, who has already notched 26 goals in 18 matches this season, including a ridiculous five hat-tricks. Haaland is just 4/7 to score for a fifth consecutive time in the Champions League, which would be some feat for the youngster. He is of course, on penalties but 4/7 just feels too short.
Everything points to plenty of goals but over 2.5 is laughably priced at just 1/3. A better value bet looks to be Over 1.5 Goals in the first half. That's banked in all four of Salzburg's Group stage matches so far and can be backed at 10/11 with Bet365.
I'm also edging towards the Red Bull win but again it's much shorter then I'd like at just 3/5. So I'm opting for a combination bet of Salzburg to win and Over 2.5 Goals at 20/21 with Bet365.
This UEFA Champions League match between Genk and Red Bull Salzburg will be played on Nov 27, 2019 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best Genk vs Red Bull Salzburg prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
