RB Leipzig vs Real Sociedad Predictions

• Leipzig won their only prior clash vs Spanish opponents (2-1 vs Atletico Madrid).
• Leipzig have won seven of their last nine home games.
• Real Sociedad have never won an away game on German soil (D1, L3).

Something to hang onto for RB Leipzig

While they are one of the sides to drop out of the Champions League, RB Leipzig ended their group campaign in good style as they snuck past Brugge into the all-important third place spot. The second half of that group campaign saw some huge results, including a draw with PSG and a win against Manchester City, both of whom won their CL knockout first legs on Tuesday.

Leipzig have now scored at least twice in six of their last seven home games while conceding just a single goal across their last three at the Red Bull Arena, suggesting they will be out for more goals in this important clash as they seek to take an advantage back to Spain in the reverse.

The rise of Leipzig has been an impressive one, they recorded their joint-highest ever Bundesliga finish last season (2nd) while each of their five historical European campaigns were across each of the last five seasons. During that time they have played three Europa League knockout games at home, winning twice and losing the other.

A Real tough encounter

Real Sociedad are no pushovers, but they have struggled to win games of late as seen in their ten-game La Liga form (W2, D4, L4). Even so, they still flirt with yet another European qualification domestically, but they know that this will be a tougher assignment than their usual league encounters after losing two of their three two-legged affairs with German teams.

This is only the third time that Sociedad are appearing in the Europa League round of 32, but it was at this stage that they were knocked out in both of their prior participations as they failed to win either of those away legs (D1, L1).

Overall, I am predicting a home victory in this clash at what appears to be very generous odds, Leipzig’s home form is simply imperious and they have already shown this season that they can go toe-to-toe with the big boys on the continent. For smaller stakes, I will play a workmanlike 2-0 Leipzig victory ahead of the interesting return leg.