UEFA Champions League

RB Leipzig v Real Madrid: Vinicius Junior to net in 15/1 Bet Builder

Real Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti can watch his team take a first-leg lead

In-form Vinicius Junior can help Real Madrid take a first-leg lead in Tuesday's Champions League last-16 clash away to RB Leipzig, says Dave Tindall...


RB Leipzig v Real Madrid
Tuesday February 13, 20:00
Live on Discovery+

Leipzig struggling for results against best

A haul of 12 points from Group G was a decent return for Leipzig, who qualified automatically for the group stage after finishing third in the Bundesliga last season.

But, in many ways, it shone a light on where they are. Leipzig won all four games against Young Boys and Red Star but were twice beaten by Manchester City, conceding three goals in both those games against Pep Guardiola's side.

As for this year's Bundesliga campaign, they sit fifth after a sticky spell. After going into the winter break with a draw away to Werder Bremen, they suffered a trio of defeats when the action returned.

February has seen a slight upturn with a 2-0 home win over Union Berlin and a 2-2 draw at Augsburg although both those teams are in the bottom half.

As for their head-to-heads against the top two, they drew 2-2 with Bayern Munich after holding a 2-0 lead while they've lost 3-2 in both matches against leaders Bayer Leverkusen.

If there's a pattern, Leipzig are competitive against the best teams, often finding goals, but their defence struggles and more often than not they're being beaten against quality opposition.

In-form Madrid seeking No.15

Real Madrid are the kings of this competition, their astonishing tally of 14 triumphs double that of the tournament's second most celebrated club, AC Milan.

Five of those wins have come in the last decade although last season was painful after a 5-1 aggregate thrashing at the hands of eventual winners Manchester City. That said, no-one could have lived with City in the 4-0 bashing in the second leg at the Etihad.

Madrid beat Liverpool home and away at this stage last term, crushing the Reds 5-2 at Anfield, while they also won both legs in the quarter-finals against Chelsea.

Domestically, as if getting a whiff of the Champions League making its return, they put on arguably their best performance of the season when blasting second-placed Girona 4-0 to extend their lead at the top of La Liga to five points.

Overall this season, Carlo Ancelotti's men have been a dominant force, winning 27 of their 34 games in all competitions. Only derby rivals Atletico Madrid have managed to beat them. It figures that they're just 1/31.33 to see off Leipzig over two legs and reach the quarters.

Real can outscore hosts

Leipzig will take heart from the fact that they beat Real 3-2 at home in this competition last season. However, any Madrid observer will know that the group stage is merely a warm-up for the proper stuff i.e. the knockout stage. That said, Madrid won all six group games this time so let's just say they're very warmed up!

The Spanish giants have a strong record against German opposition, winning 10 of their last 15 head-to-heads, so it's no surprise to see Real Madrid at 2.3611/8 in the exchange's outright betting. Leipzig are 3.1511/5 and The Draw 3.814/5.

That said, given Leipzig's habit of being outscored in goal-laden games against the big teams, there's plenty of scope to be more imaginative.

One obvious bet to get us started is Real Madrid to win and both teams to score at 11/43.75.

Back Real Madrid to win and BTTS @ 11/43.75

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Vinicius Junior to star in Bet Builder

With goals expected, it's a great opportunity to play the scorer markets and the options are plentiful.

Jude Bellingham went past the 20-mark for the season with his double against Girona on Saturday night while the Englishman has netted in four of the five Champions League games he's started since his summer transfer to the Bernabeu.

However, Bellingham limped off against Girona and is set to sit this one out.

Rodrygo, who also scored in that game, has three Champions League goals to his name this season and is worth a look at 15/82.88 to register anytime.

The same applies to Joselu, Real's designated penalty taker, who scored scored twice at Getafe in his last away game and also bagged a Champions League brace away to Leipzig's fellow Germans, Union Berlin, in the group stage. He's 9/52.80 for another goal.

But the one I like best is Vinicius Junior, also at 9/52.80. The Brazilian has six goals in his last six games, that run including a hat-trick against Barcelona. He's only been fit for three Champions League games in the current campaign but scored in two of them.

For Leipzig, Lois Openda is the standout. He has the third most goals in the Bundesliga this season with 15 and scored three times across the two games against Manchester City.

An anytime goal for the Belgian forward is 6/42.50 but let's combine that with a strike for Vini Jr and an away win to get some juicy Bet Builder odds.

Back Vinicius Junior to Score, Lois Openda to Score and Real Madrid to win on Bet Builder @ 15/116.00

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