Two teams that have made contrasting starts to their respective Champions League campaigns lock horns at the Red Bull Arena on Tuesday night, as RB Leipzig take on Aston Villa.
Marco Rose’s hosts are one of only three teams that have yet to pick up a point in this season’s league phase.
The Saxony-based outfit slumped to their fifth defeat in succession when being edged out 1-0 away at Inter Milan on matchday five.
Things haven’t been going much better for Leipzig in the Bundesliga of late, though a 2-0 win away at Holstein Kiel on Saturday did bring an end to their four-game winless run.
In contrast, Aston Villa are unbeaten and have amassed 10 points from their opening five Champions League games of the season, meaning that they are in pole position to progress to the knockout stage.
Unai Emery’s side appear to have come through a bit of a sticky patch in the Premier League, having made it back-to-back wins with a 1-0 success against Southampton on Saturday, in a game that brought up my Bet Builder
How the bookies view it: Duo difficult to separate
The bookmakers’ odds would suggest that this game could go either way, with Aston Villa marginal 6/4 favourites on Kwiff.
RB Leipzig are narrow outsiders at 8/5 on Kwiff, while an all square affair at the Red Bull Arena has been priced up at 13/5 with the same firm.
Head to head: Red Bulls looking for another win
RB Leipzig and Aston Villa crossed paths for the first time ever earlier this year as part of their respective pre-season programmes. The Red Bulls ran out 2-0 winners in New Jersey thanks to goals from Andre Silva and Lois Openda.
Players to watch: Openda to open his account?
Lois Openda has yet to score in this season’s Champions League. The RB Leipzig forward is 11/10 on Kwiff to get up and running at the sixth attempt on Tuesday night.
Tyrone Mings committed four fouls during his one and only previous appearance during this season’s Champions League, making him an appealing option for a minimum of one misdemeanour on Tuesday night at 10/11 (PaddyPower).
Predicted line-ups
After collecting his third yellow card of the campaign against Inter last time out, RB Leipzig will be without the suspended Castello Lukeba. The Bundesliga side will also be unable to call upon David Raum, El Chadaille Bitshiabu, Eljif Elmas, Xavi Simons and Yussuf Poulsen , all of whom are injured
Leon Bailey has joined Jacob Ramsey in the Aston Villa treatment room after suffering a hamstring injury against Southampton last time out.
RB Leipzig: Gulacsi; Geertruida, Seiwald, Orban, Henrichs; Baumgartner, Haidara, Vermeeren, Nusa; Sesko, Openda
Aston Villa: Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne; Kamara, Tielemans; Philogene, Rogers, McGinn; Watkins
Anything else catch the eye?
Given RB Leipzig’s greater need for the points on Tuesday night, a minimum of five match corners looks well within range from the home team at 5/6 on Bet 365.
Rose’s charges are averaging 6.83 corners per home game in the Bundesliga this season.
On top of that, the Red Bulls have racked up five or more corners in each of their last four Champions League games, a sample that includes clashes with the likes of Liverpool and Inter.
This UEFA Champions League match between RB Leipzig and Aston Villa will be played on Dec 10, 2024 and kick off at 20:00. Check below for our tipsters best RB Leipzig vs Aston Villa prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
In December 2020 we sadly 
