Confirmed lineups: RB Leipzig vs. Sporting Lisbon

With just over an hour to kick-off, RB Leipzig head coach Marco Rose has announced his starting XI to take on a talented Sporting Lisbon side. The team from the Portuguese capital is currently comfortably in first place with 44 points after 18 rounds of domestic Liga Portugal action and flying high in the Champions League.

As for Leipzig, their dreams of reaching the knockout stages of Europe’s premier competition are all but over. After struggling for form throughout the campaign, they remain rooted to the foot of the table with no points. With the new format in place, a possible maximum of six points from their remaining two matches would not be sufficient to advance.

Tonight, Marco Rose makes 6 wholesale changes to their line-up, which was surprisingly held to a 3-3 stalemate by a resurgent VfL Bochum last Saturday afternoon. Maarten Vandevoordt starts between the sticks, while Lutsharel Geertruida and El Chadaille Bitshiabu come in defense alongside captain Willi Orbán and David Raum.

In midfield, Nicolas Seiwald and Amadou Haidara are joined by the more attacking duo Xavi Simons and Christoph Baumgartner. Normal service resumes at the top as Benjamin Sesko plays alongside Loïs Openda.

As for the hosts, they come into tonight on the back of a routine 3-0 win over Rio Ave at the weekend. Head coach Rui Borges will start with a formation that includes former Mainz defender Jeremiah St.Juste. the only surprising omission is a place on the bench for top scorer and ex-St.Pauli striker Viktor Gyökeres.

Official lineups below:

RB Leipzig (4-2-2-2): Vandevoordt – Geertruida, Bitshiabu, Orbán (c), Raum – Haidara, Seiwald – Baumgartner, Simons – Sesko, Openda

Sporting Lisbon: (4-4-2): Israel – Fresneda, Diomande, St.Juste, Araujo – Catamo, Debast, Hjulmand (c), Quenda – Trincão, Harder