RB Leipzig vs Tottenham Hotspur Predictions

• Spurs have lost three of their last five games.
• Jose Mourinho has lost seven of nine Champions League trips to Germany.
• Leipzig have never kept a clean sheet at home in this competition.
• Spurs have seen BTTS land in nine of their last 11 UCL trips.

Spurs Seek Recovery

Tottenham went into their first-leg clash with Leipzig on form, winning three on the spin. They duly lost the clash 1-0 to start a five-game winless streak, which has included key losses to Wolves and Chelsea. Can Jose Mourinho shake that poor form and inspire them to European success?

RB Leipzig are looking to reach the quarter-final stage of a major European competition for only the second time, achieving that accolade in the 2017-18 Europa League before being eliminated by Marseille. Meanwhile, Spurs have been eliminated from eight of their last 10 major UEFA European knockout ties after losing the first leg. Who will emerge on top here?

The Brave and The Old

In the first leg, Leipzig manager Julian Nagelsmann became the youngest manager to manage in a Champions League knockout match (32 years & 211 days). The youngest manager to progress from a knockout tie is Didier Deschamps in 2003-04 with Monaco (35 years & 147 days). However, that season saw a 41-year-old Mourinho marked out as Europe’s hottest prospect. Now he seems a very tired 57, especially when compared to the likes of Nagelsmann.

To make matters worse, Mourinho has never quite taken to clashes in Germany. The Tottenham boss has lost seven of his nine away Champions League games in Germany (W2), losing more trips there than anywhere else. Those seven defeats account for 30% of his away defeats in the Champions League to date (7/23).

Unconventional Mourinho

Mourinho hasn’t made a positive impact on Tottenham, while he hasn’t exactly made a typical Mourinho impact either. Their defence remains unorganised, having conceded in nine of their last 10 games. He has often sent his team out looking undercooked at the back, pushing them forward to get goals. With Spurs behind, that has to be the approach here.

There are weaknesses in this Leipzig side, as they’ve never kept a clean sheet at home in this competition. In the group stage, they conceded in five of six matches overall. Meanwhile, Spurs have scored in 10 of their 12 trips under Mourinho’s watch, with both teams scoring in each of those 10. On top of that, nine of Spurs’ last 11 trips have seen BTTS land. With the visitors likely to push forward, we expect a repeat so BTTS is our first selection.

Spurs have three defeats against German opposition this season, while Mourinho’s record in Germany points to a tough night for the Premier League side. While we’ve backed them to score, we see their poor form continuing, with a 2-1 home win our correct score pick.