German side RB Leipzig will welcome Spanish club Real Sociedad to Red Bull Arena this Thursday for their first leg tie of the 2021/22 UEFA Europa League season.
Venue: Red Bull Arena
Key Statistics
RB Leipzig beat Atletico 2-1 in their only European meeting against Spanish opposition to date, in their one-legged 2019/20 Champions League quarter-final
Christopher Nkunku registered seven goals and two assists across Leipzig’s six Champions League groups games.
Real Sociedad have faced Bundesliga opposition eight times to date, and are winless in four on German soil (D1, L3).
Adnan Januzaj (2015), Mikel Merino (2016/17) and Isak (2017/18) are former Bundesliga players, all having represented Dortmund.
Head to head
This is the first time RB Leipzig are facing Real Sociedad in the UEFA Europa League.
Latest performances in all competition
Leipzig: W-L-W-W-W
Real Sociedad: W-D-L-D-W
RB Leipzig
Leipzig will look to get a win when they welcome Real Sociedad to the Red Bull Arena on Thursday evening for the first leg of their Europa League knockout round playoff.
The German side qualified for the playoffs by finishing third in their Champions League group A. Third place was perhaps the best they could hope for having been put in a group containing the mighty duo of Manchester City and Paris Saint Germain.
The German side racked up an impressive seven points to claim third place, and this feat was made more significant, as it came at a time when they were struggling in the Bundesliga.
Since bringing in Domenico Tedesco, Leipzig have seen a drastic improvement in results and a recent 3-1 win over Koln in the weekend saw Leipzig climb back up into the top four but must firmly keep their eyes on qualifying for the last 16 of Europe’s second-tier club tournament.
Possible RB Leipzig starting line-up
Peter Gulacsi, Nordi Mukiele, Mohamed Simakan, Josko Gvardiol, Lukas Klostermann, Kevin Kampl, Konrad Laimer, Benjamin Henrichs, Emil Forsberg, Yussuf Poulsen, Dominik Szoboszlai.
Injured: Marcel Halstenberg
Doubtful: None
Suspended: None
Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad had dropped to the seventh spot in La Liga after two goalless draws but only moved back to sixth place with a 2-0 win over Granada at the weekend.
The visitors are one point shy of Barcelona in fourth place and will be confident of challenging for a champions league spot as the season winds down.
Real Sociedad’s progress to the knockout round playoffs came via a dramatic final-day win over PSV Eindhoven courtesy of a brace from Mikel Oyarzabal and a stoppage-time goal from Alexander Sorloth.
Leipzig will definitely present a tougher challenge and the fact that this will be the pair’s first meeting in European football will certainly attract more interest.
Possible Real Sociedad starting line-up
Alex Remiro, Andoni Gorosabel, Aritz Elustondo, Robin Le Normand, Diego Rico, Adnan Januzaj, Asier Illarramendi, Mikel Merino, Mikel Oyarzabal, Alexander Sorloth, Alexander Isak.
Injured: Ander Barrenetxea, Carlos Fernandez, Nacho Monreal
Doubtful: None
Suspended: Martin Zubimendi
Prediction
RB Leipzig 2-1 Lazio
