Preview: Celtic vs. RB Leipzig - prediction, team news, lineups

The Hoops were beaten 3-1 at Red Bull Arena, and sit bottom of the table on just one point from three games, so victory is essential if they are to leapfrog Leipzig and contend for a place in the last 16.

Match preview

Losing for the sixth time in their last seven Champions League matches, Celtic's flaws were exposed last Wednesday, as they fell to defeat against an RB Leipzig side struggling for form this season.

Ange Postecoglou's men had just halted a three-game winless run - including fixtures against Group F counterparts Real Madrid and Shakhtar Donetsk - with victory at home to Motherwell, but despite Jota scoring an equaliser just after the interval, an error from goalkeeper Joe Hart played a part in their demise thereafter.

In all, Celtic have lost 17 of their last 23 matches at Europe's elite level, which demonstrates the difficulty faced by the Glasgow club when stepping up in class, but they at least managed to get back on track straight away with a Premiership win at the weekend.

After starting on the bench in Germany, Greek striker Giorgos Giakoumakis scored the Bhoys' winner in a dramatic finale against St Johnstone on Saturday, as the hosts produced a stoppage-time equaliser and Celtic seemed set to drop points for the second straight away match domestically.

However, Giakoumakis grabbed the winning goal in the fifth added minute to earn all three points and consolidate his side's place at the top of the table.

Their chances of progressing from a Champions League group for the first time in a decade, though, hang by a thread, and are almost totally reliant on getting the better of third-placed Leipzig on Wednesday. With the Celtic Park faithful roaring them on, such a result cannot be ruled out, but it will take a sharp turnaround from the events of last week.

Having been beaten on both of their previous visits to Scotland's second city - by Celtic four years ago, and at Ibrox in last season's Europa League semi-finals - RB Leipzig will need no reminder that a tough task lies in wait at Parkhead.

Andre Silva's double strike and Christopher Nkunku's opener may have given Die Roten Bullen a first victory of their Champions League campaign in the reverse fixture, but they have won only three of their last 11 matches in Europe's top club competition and still trail Shakhtar Donetsk by a point in the Group F standings.

With Real Madrid apparently set to sprint off into the distance - the reigning champions have won all of their games so far - one place in the knockout stages is up for grabs among the group's other three contestants, which makes at least avoiding defeat in Glasgow a clear objective for new coach Marco Rose.

A 4-1 loss in the club's Champions League opener to Shakhtar Donetsk brought an end to predecessor Domenico Tedesco's reign, and since Leipzig-born Rose's arrival, their inconsistency has continued.

Nonetheless, they have now put together a three-match unbeaten run, with their win last Wednesday being sandwiched by a 4-0 success against Bochum and Saturday's 1-1 draw at Mainz, the latter of which saw Nkunku rescue a point with an 80th-minute equaliser.

After they failed to progress from the Champions League group stage last term, all Leipzig's focus will now shift to claiming six points from six against Celtic and setting up a straight fight with Shakhtar for a spot in the last 16.

Celtic Champions League form:

L

D

L

Celtic form (all competitions):

L

D

L

W

L

W

RB Leipzig Champions League form:

L

L

W

RB Leipzig form (all competitions):

W

L

L

W

W

D

Team News

Celtic's hopes of gaining swift revenge on Tuesday night will be hampered by the loss of their captain, Callum McGregor, who suffered a knee injury at Red Bull Arena and is out of action until next month.

In all, Ange Postecoglou made six changes at the weekend, but is now expected to select an XI similar to that which started in Germany. Therefore, Daizen Maeda and Kyogo Furuhashi should come back into the side.

Cameron Carter-Vickers will be involved after he recently joined Aaron Mooy in returning to full training, and David Turnbull may be back in action after tonsillitis. However, the injured Carl Starfelt misses out again, so either Moritz Jenz or Stephen Welsh must partner Carter-Vickers at the back.

Like Celtic, Leipzig lost their captain to a serious injury during the reverse fixture, and goalkeeper Peter Gulasci will be replaced by Janis Blaswich at Parkhead.

First-team regulars Lukas Klostermann, Konrad Laimer and Dani Olmo are also sidelined for the visitors, but they have built significant squad depth to cater for such absences - particularly up front.

Timo Werner, Christopher Nkunku, Andre Silva and Dominik Szoboszlai should form a dangerous attacking quartet, while versatile midfielder Emil Forsberg offers another option to Marco Rose if required.

Celtic possible starting lineup:

Hart; Juranovic, Carter-Vickers, Jenz, Taylor; Hatate, McCarthy, O'Riley; Maeda, Furuhashi, Jota

RB Leipzig possible starting lineup:

Blaswich; Simakan, Orban, Gvardiol, Raum; Kampl, Schlager; Szoboszlai, Nkunku, Werner; Silva

We say: Celtic 1-2 RB Leipzig

Neither side have been able to string together a sustained sequence of results recently - and the stakes are particularly high - so it may be an open encounter between two teams gunning for the win.

Previews by email