UEFA Europa League 2018/2019: FC Red Bull Salzburg vs RB Leipzig

Two months have passed since the first Red Bull Derby in the UEFA Europa League. RB Leipzig and FC Red Bull Salzburg played out a thrilling 3-2 contest with FC Leipzig snatching three points from with a late goal. Matchday five hosts the fixture again with the FC Salzburg in pole position six points clear of the pack.

Both RB Leipzig and Celtic F.C are level on six points after Celtic’s emphatic win against the East German club on matchday four. A win for FC Salzburg would guarantee top spot and passage into the knockout stages. RB Leipzig will need a positive result to stand a chance of qualifying without relying on FC Salzburg. With Celtic F.C expected to beat pointless Rosenborg, the pressure was on RB Leipzig to perform. The hosts hadn’t been beaten at home in over two years making them slight favourites in what promised to be a hotly contested encounter.

Team News

FC Red Bull Salzburg

FC Red Bull Salzburg made three changes from their 5-2 thrashing of Rosenberg on matchday 4 with Takumi Minamino, Amadou Haidara and Jérôme Onguéné replaced by Hannes Wolf, Marin Pongračić and Zlatko Junuzović. Haidara has been ruled out till the new year with an injury.

Marco Rose has set up his team in his usual 4-1-2-1-2 formation with Hannes Wolf spearheading the diamond in midfield. Andre Ramalho, Stefan Lainer and Andreas Ulmer have been mainstays of the Salzburg defense this season and continued with another start. Xaver Schalger was the general in midfield in his usual deep-lying playmaking role. Europa League top scorer Moanes Dabbur and Frederick Gulbrandsen started up front to capitalise on their pace and strength to penetrate RB Leipzig’s defensive line.

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