RB Leipzig vs Liverpool Betting Tips (16/02/21) – Could Champions League Tilt Put the Edge Back in Reds’ Game?

There was a moment during the 1-3 defeat to Leicester City on Saturday where the TV cameras panned to Jurgen Klopp on the sidelines, and he was shown head down chuckling to himself. It was the sort of chuckle you seen in films just before a character then bursts into tears.

It’s been a tough week personally for Klopp with the sad passing of his mother, and that has not been helped by a derisory week from a professional perspective as his Liverpool side once again capitulated.

It had all started so well in the East Midlands too. The Reds dominated the opening hour and did everything but put the ball in the net – until, that is, Mo Salah guided home after some sublime skill from Bobby Firmino.

Next would come a test of the Reds’ resolve, as Leicester would press hard for an equaliser given the importance of this game to the top four shake-up – Liverpool, teetering after a series of defeats, were about to be put to the sword.

A free kick was conceded just outside the area and James Maddison found a route to goal, with Alisson unsighted until late.

And as was the case in the Manchester City game less than a week ago, the Brazilian goalkeeper was again calamitously at fault for his side’s second – he came hurtling out of goal to deal with a long ball over the top and simply ended up colliding with debutant Ozan Kabak, leaving Jamie Vardy with the simple task of rolling the ball home for Leicester’s second.

As the Reds pushed for an equaliser of their own late on, they opened up and that gave Wilfred Ndidi the space to lay a ball into Harvey Barnes, who made no mistake.

Afterwards, Klopp said that for 75 minutes his side was ‘outstanding’ before the late capitulation, however he was defiant in his defence of what he saw. “It was a clear game that we should win,” he said. “We played good football, dominated possession, took the game out of Leicester.”

However, it’s all about the three points and this is an area where Liverpool have been clearly lacking of late. Perhaps then a shift to Champions League action will provide respite and reward, as Liverpool head to the neutral territory of Hungary to take on RB Leipzig in the last 16.

Liverpool Team News

The fact that Fabinho missed out at the weekend was devastating for Liverpool, as it meant that Kabak probably had to come in for his debut sooner than Klopp would have liked.

As of Sunday, Klopp did not know if the Brazilian would be fit or not for the game against Leipzig, and so presuming he isn’t then Kabak will possibly start again alongside Jordan Henderson at the heart of defence.

What do you do with Alisson? Take him out of the firing line for a bit, but possibly dent his confidence even further? No, the Brazilian has to start and so too do the rest of Liverpool’s key figures – Alexander-Arnold, Robertson, Wijnaldum, Mane, Salah and Firmino. This is, remember, the Reds’ last viable chance of silverware.

James Milner limped off with a hamstring problem against Leicester, and so a midfield of Wijnaldum, Thiago and Curtis Jones all but picks itself.

RB Leipzig Form

If anybody is going to stop Bayern Munich romping to another Bundesliga title it’s RB Leipzig.

It’s credit to them that they are just four points behind the champions at this stage of the season, and that’s down to their fine consistency – W13 D5 L3 speaks for itself.

In the Champions League, they finished second on goal difference behind PSG in their group, with the Germans defeating Manchester United 3-2 on home soil to get revenge for their 0-5 tonking at Old Trafford.

RB Leipzig vs Liverpool Betting Tips

As mentioned, this game will be played at a neutral venue in Budapest, and while even though home fans wouldn’t have been allowed in anyway it’s great for the Reds that Leipzig’s home comforts have been taken away from them.

The bookmakers are placing a lot of faith in Liverpool, however, with the Reds as short as 5/4 with some sportsbooks – that is simply unbackable, and perhaps even a lay bet on the Exchange if that’s of interest.

There might just be a battening of the hatches here from Klopp, as he will be desperate to take this game to the return leg with the possibility of Fabinho and even Diogo Jota returning for that. As such, Under 2.5 Goals at a huge 13/10 could be the play as Liverpool look to protect Alisson and co at all costs.