RB Leipzig vs Liverpool Prediction: Sesko to continue scoring run in CL

RB Leipzig are still searching for their first Uefa Champions League point/s of the season after back-to-back defeats in the competition against Atletico Madrid (2-1) and Juventus (2-3), but things don't get any easier for Die Roten Bullen on Wednesday (20:00, TNT Sports 1) when Liverpool visit the Red Bull Arena.

Below you can check out my RB Leipzig vs Liverpool prediction, complete with all the latest team news and match odds, ahead of this league phase game in Germany.

Team News

Leipzig are without Austrian midfielders Nicolas Seiwald and Xaver Schlager, as well as German full-back David Raum, for the visit of Liverpool.

However, Amadou Haidara and last season's top scorer Lois Openda should be fit despite both being substituted with issues in the second half of Saturday's 2-0 win over Mainz, where Xavi Simons and Willi Orban got the goals.

Simons is likely to start in attack alongside Openda and Slovenian striker Benjamin Sesko, whose tally of three goals in the league phase of the competition is only bettered by Bayern Munich's Harry Kane (four).

Sesko's compatriot Kevin Kampl made his return from injury on the weekend and is in contention to play his first continental minutes on Wednesday, while Benjamin Henrichs and Christoph Baumgartner are both in with a shout of beginning the game.

Football Odds

Liverpool's starting XI isn't expected to change dramatically from the one that began Sunday's 2-1 victory over Chelsea at Anfield, but two or three alterations are likely, particularly with a trip to Arsenal coming up at the weekend.

Diogo Jota is set to drop out after succumbing to injury in the first half against the Blues and the Portugal international should be replaced by Darwin Nunez, who came on for the forward at the half-hour mark on Sunday and led the line superbly.

The Uruguayan could be joined in attack by Luis Diaz, who was another impressive substitute at the weekend. Diaz will come in for Cody Gakpo on the left-hand side, with Mohamed Salah keeping his place on the right-hand side of the front three.

Another change Reds head coach Arne Slot could make is to start Alexis Mac Allister, who was restricted to a cameo appearance at Anfield. Ryan Gravenberch should keep his place in midfield, though, with the Argentine more likely to replace either Curtis Jones, who struck the winner against Chelsea, or former Leipzig star Dominik Szoboszlai.

Kostas Tsimikas is an option to come in for Andy Robertson at left-back but Slot may opt to keep a settled back four of the Scot, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk in front of goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher, who is deputising once again for the injured Alisson Becker.

Harvey Elliott isn't due back in action until next month for the Premier League giants, while summer signing Federico Chiesa is a doubt after missing the Reds' last three games through injury.

RB Leipzig vs Liverpool Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main RB Leipzig vs Liverpool page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Leipzig are 11/4 to record a first-ever success over Liverpool, who they lost 2-0 to home and away in the last 16 of the 2020/21 Champions League. Those odds give the hosts an implied win probability of 26.7%, while Liverpool are 5/6, or a 54.5% chance, to make it three wins in a row against their German counterparts.

A first draw between the teams, meanwhile, is priced at 4/1, and both teams to score at 4/9.

Salah (6/5) and Nunez (6/4) lead the anytime goalscorer market, with Openda (7/4) shortest priced for the hosts, while Szoboszlai is 4/1 to fire past his former club.

Both Teams to Score in First Half - Yes @ 9/4

Liverpool's mean defence has ensured this selection hasn't landed very often this season, with the Reds conceding just four times across their first 11 games under Slot's tutelage.

However, both teams to score in the first half was a winner in last month's 5-1 Carabao Cup thrashing of West Ham United at Anfield, where Jota cancelled out Jarell Quansah's own-goal to ensure the contest was level heading into the interval.

It also landed in Liverpool's first Champions League match of the season, a 3-1 win against AC Milan at San Siro, where Slot's side fell behind to a third-minute Christian Pulisic goal before Konate and Van Dijk sent the Reds into half-time 2-1 up.

Leipzig, meanwhile, have seen both teams score in the first half on three occasions this season, starting with a 4-1 win at RW Essen in the DFB Pokal on August 17. Ramien Safi sent the German third-division side into an early lead before Sesko and Openda turned things around later in the half.

The second instance occurred at the BayArena on August 31 when Bayer Leverkusen wing-backs Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo struck within six minutes of each other before Kampl pulled one back for the visitors in the seventh minute of first-half added time.

The most recent match of Leipzig's in which both teams struck in the first 45 minutes was against Atletico Madrid in the Champions League last month, when Sesko opened the scoring in the fourth minute only for Antoine Griezmann to level things up 24 minutes later.

Of course, both Leipzig and Liverpool have great defensive records recently, with the German side keeping four clean sheets in their last five games and the English outfit recording two shutouts in the same number (six since the season began, the same as Die Roten Bullen).

But, both sides have blistering attacks with forwards that have proven they can fire in Europe, and thus I think we could be in for an entertaining encounter on Wednesday, with a goal from both a possibility in the first half.

Anytime Goalscorer - Benjamin Sesko (RBL) @ 15/8

Sesko has scored in both of his 2024/25 Champions League appearances, opening his account in this season's competition with a strike against Atletico before bagging a brace at home to Juventus.

The 21-year-old hasn't got on the scoresheet since that double against the Old Lady, firing blanks in Leipzig's wins over Heidenheim (0-1) and Mainz either side of a couple of Uefa Nations League games with Slovenia, who lost 3-0 to Norway on October 10 before beating Kazakhstan 1-0 in Almaty three days later.

Sesko has already beaten his Champions League tally of two goals last season and is on six club strikes across all competitions having struck twice in the Bundesliga and once in the DFB Pokal, while he scored four times for his country last month (Slovenia's only effort in a 1-1 draw with Austria, and all three in a 3-0 win over Kazakhstan in Ljubljana).

He'll be up against a couple of top defenders in Van Dijk and Konate on Wednesday but I think Sesko has the confidence and physicality to deal with the duo and get himself on the scoresheet once again in the Champions League.

Offers

We will be Top Price on Liverpool to beat RB Leipzig with selected bookmakers using Oddschecker for the comparison. (Available from 09:00 Wednesday).

Place an In-Play single bet of £10 or more at odds of 1/2+ on any Champions League game on Tuesday or Wednesday and get £5 in Free Bets to use In-Play on Thursday’s Europa League/Europa Conference League games. (Credited upon Bet Settlement).

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