The Spanish superclub is always considered a favorite in all tournaments in which it participates. However, in the Champions League playoffs there is no place for downright weak teams, and Madrid’s first rival, the German Red Bull, has its own ambitions and is not afraid of generally recognized contenders for the title.
In the first meeting, Los Blancos got a minimal victory on the road, but it was not at all easy for them. Despite the fact that Real is considered the favorite of the confrontation (and after the away triumph, its favoritism even increased a little), there is no doubt that the hosts do not have to expect an easy life in the return game. If you like sports betting, go to Mostbet com BD, and we will look at what the teams from Madrid and Leipzig can expect.
Real Madrid’s path to the 1/8 finals of the Champions League
According to the tradition that has existed for many years, Real got into the Champions League without any qualifying rounds – like the silver medalist of Primera. The draw sent the Madrid team to Quartet C, where they were incredibly lucky with their opponents – with all due respect to Napoli, Braga and Union Berlin, not every fan can immediately figure out whether it is the Champions League or the Europa League.
It is not surprising that Carlo Ancelotti’s team, without straining too much, passed the group tournament in one breath. Real won four of the six matches with a minimal difference in the score and a far from flawless defensive performance, but history will remember something else – one hundred percent of Madrid’s points, because all the games were won. Even though they conceded as many as 7 goals, they scored 16. As a result, “Cream” scored almost twice as many points as their closest pursuer, the Neapolitans.
Thanks to this performance, we cannot objectively assess Real’s strength – it is possible that the club played many of the Champions League matches in the fall carelessly. At the same time, the victory of the group should have ensured the weaker opponent by 1/8, but Leipzig is not suitable for the role of whipping boys.
RB Leipzig’s path to the 1/8 finals of the Champions League
The Red Bull company managed to create a club in Leipzig whose status is now located somewhere between the obvious giants of European football and those teams that belong to the second tier. On the one hand, the team has no more significant titles than a couple of German Cups (just in the last two editions), on the other hand, the entire history of the Red Bulls goes back some 15 years, and they have already managed to make it to the Champions League semi-finals once, and clearly want to repeat the success.
In Quartet G, which included the bronze medalist of last season’s Bundesliga, he was accompanied by two outright “passengers” in the person of Young Boys and Red Star, but the fourth participant was Man City. The Mancunians left no stone unturned by their opponents, scoring 18 points out of 18 possible, and Leipzig could not do anything special to oppose them – 1:3 in the second round at home, 2:3 in the fifth away.
In the remaining matches, Red Bull achieved a 100% result in the form of 12 points. The goal difference of 13:10 proves that this is a fun team – even in matches with frankly weak opponents, they conceded an average of one goal. Second place in the group brought Leipzig straight to Real Madrid, and it certainly couldn’t be called a lucky draw.
Odds for the match Real Madrid – Leipzig
Real cannot be called very busy in other tournaments: in mid-January, he stopped fighting for the Spanish Cup, losing in the 1/8 to a worthy opponent in Atlético, and in La Liga the advantage over Girona, as the only likely rival in the fight for the championship, is only growing. In other words, all efforts can be thrown into the Champions League – especially since the first game against Leipzig has already been won.
Things are much worse in Leipzig itself. In the German Cup, the “Red Bulls” were disgraced – they were eliminated in the 1/16 (at the end of October) by Wolfsburg, who left the competition at the very next stage, there is no other way to describe it. In the Bundesliga, the situation is no better – the ambitious club is trailing fifth, and it is not yet a fact that it will qualify for the Champions League next season. Therefore, everything depends on how the management sets priorities: either it is necessary to cling to this Champions League with all one’s strength or to save the situation in the championship so as not to crash into the Europa League or even the Conference League.
Having managed to defeat Leipzig in the away match, Real seems to the bookmakers to be the obvious favorite in the home match:
- 1.62 for Madrid’s victory;
- 4.45 for a draw, which is also in favor of Los Blancos;
- 5.4 for the victory of the Germans, who may not have enough to reach the quarterfinals.
Based on the numbers, it turns out that Real Madrid, roughly speaking, is already in the quarterfinals. However, we have no doubt that Leipzig and its ambitious owners will do everything possible to turn the situation on its head. Of course, the intrigue in the return match concerns not who will advance, but whether Red Bull is capable of a sensation, but the fact of the matter is that it is too early to write him off.
