Celtic set for raucous RB Leipzig reception

By Dave Flanigan

September 22, 2022

Celtic’s next Champions League game away to RB Leipzig has sold out a fortnight in advance, the Bundesliga club have announced.

Marco Rose’s side took to Twitter to announce that the game had already sold out, with the 47,000-capacity stadium set to host around 3000 Celtic fans, who will no doubt be in fine voice as always, as the team look for only their third away Group Stage win in the competition.

The October 4th clash in Germany is a repeat of the 2018-19 Europa League group stage when the clubs played out a doubleheader on Matchday 3 and 4 of the group, the Red Bull Arena game also being staged first on that occasion.

Brendan Rodgers’ Celtic lost that game 2-0, but downed the German outfit 2-1 in the return tie on a dramatic night in Paradise, in which Odsonne Edouard’s winner came straight from kick-off after Leipzig’s equaliser.

Leipzig have suffered an inauspicious start to the season, currently sitting 12th in the Bundesliga and having only won one of their last five matches in all competitions.

The Red Bull-owned club delivered an impressive 3-0 win over Rose’s old side Dortmund in his first game on the touchline but suffered back-to-back defeats to Real Madrid in the Champions League, and then Rose’s other old Bundesliga side, Borussia Monchengladbach.

They warm up for the doubleheader with a home game against VfL Bochum, with a trip to Mainz bisecting the two games against Ange Postecoglou’s side.

For Celtic, they’ll look to get back to winning ways domestically against Motherwell on the 1st of October, after St Mirren ended their 38-match league unbeaten run under Postecoglou in Paisley last Sunday.

A trip to Perth to face St Johnstone on the 8th of the month separates the two Leipzig games, with a home return against Shakhtar Donetsk on the 25th and a trip to the Santiago Bernabeu rounding off Celtic’s Champions League Group Stage campaign.

After a very encouraging performance and credible point in Warsaw against Shakhtar last time out, Postecoglou will no doubt be encouraging his side to take the game to Leipzig, in what will be a match to look forward to in a packed month for the Scottish champions.

In other news: Steve Clarke reveals injury knock as midfielder returns to Celtic