Tottenham Hotspur vs RB Leipzig 20/02/20

20 February 2020

Tottenham Hotspur will entertain RB Leipzig at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League (CL) last-16 tie this midweek.

The hosts are in the midst of a purple patch, having won five of seven competitive matches ahead of this clash (D2), scoring two or more goals in all of those triumphs. In turn, Jose Mourinho’s men have racked up four consecutive home victories, finding the net at least twice in each. Spurs have reached the knockout stages as the runners-up in Group B behind Bayern Munich, winning just half (three) of their group fixtures (D1, L2). Interestingly, none of Tottenham’s last 14 CL home matches has ended in a draw (W10, L4), but they’ve endured mixed fortunes in five such fixtures at their new stadium (W3, L2). It will be Tottenham’s ninth two-legged knockout tie against the Bundesliga sides, as they’ve won five of the last eight (L3).

As for the visitors, they’ve endured a torrid start to the new calendar year, securing just two wins in six competitive outings since the turn of 2020 (D2, L2). Although last weekend’s 3-0 home win over Werder Bremen saw Leipzig snap a four-game winless streak, they go into this encounter winless in four consecutive road trips (D2, L2). Frustratingly for ‘Die Roten Bullen,’ they’ve scored just one goal in their last three away matches, conceding two or more twice in the process. Yet, Julian Nagelsmann’s players have finished top of Group G, three points clear of second-placed Lyon to propel Leipzig to their first-ever knockout stage appearance. Curiously, two of Leipzig’s three group-stage successes came away from home, with Nagelsmann’s side scoring over 1.5 match goals in all three of their CL trips this season.