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Champions League · League phase, matchday 5

RB Leipzig vs Lens: Match Preview & Stats

RB Leipzig crest RB Leipzig
vs
Lens crest Lens
Red Bull Arena, Leipzig

Our picks

Model predictions are published 48 hours before kick-off

To take in the latest form and rest days, the predictions for this match come out on . (If either team plays another match in between, they come out once that match is over.)

See today's ready predictions →

Our record

  • RB Leipzig: 8 of 8 right
  • Lens: 4 of 8 right

Our result picks in each club's earlier matches on this site.

Match facts

Competition
Champions League, League phase, matchday 5
Kick-off
Venue
Red Bull Arena, Leipzig
Since last match
RB Leipzig: 3 days (Bundesliga) · Union Berlin Lens: 3 days (Ligue 1) · Toulouse
Next match
RB Leipzig: 4 days (Bundesliga) later Lens: 3 days (Ligue 1) later

Last starting XI

RB Leipzig 4-3-3

  1. 12 Vandevoordt
  2. 17 Baku
  3. 4 Orbán
  4. 23 Lukeba
  5. 22 Raum
  6. 10 Gruda
  7. 21 El Aynaoui
  8. 6 Banzuzi
  9. 28 Nkunku
  10. 40 Rômulo
  11. 27 Gomis

Coach: Martín Demichelis vs Augsburg, 5-2 · Bundesliga · 7 Nov

Lens 3-4-2-1

  1. 23 Risser
  2. 24 Gradit
  3. 6 Baidoo
  4. 20 Todibo
  5. 23 Abdulhamid
  6. 8 Titraoui
  7. 21 Haidara
  8. 14 Udol
  9. 10 Thauvin
  10. 7 Sotoca
  11. 9 Hazard

Coach: Yannick Cahuzac vs Marseille, 1-2 · Ligue 1 · 8 Nov

Our predicted line-ups come with our picks, 48 hours before kick-off. Until then: each club's last starting XI.

Injuries and suspensions

RB Leipzig

  • DF Max FinkgräfeInjured · Late November 2026
  • MF Assan OuédraogoInjured · Late December 2026
  • FW Marc GuiuInjured · A few weeks

Lens

  • DF Ismaëlo GaniouInjured · Late November 2026
  • DF Maik NawrockiInjured · Mid May 2027
  • MF Abdallah SimaInjured · Late November 2026
  • MF Jhoanner ChavezInjured · Late November 2026
  • FW Franjo IvanovićInjured · About 1-2 weeks
  • FW Odsonne ÉdouardInjured · Early January 2027

Players listed as injured, suspended or away with their national team, with their expected return.

Missing Players Impact

RB Leipzig

Low impact
Missing attack share 0.0%
Missing minutes share 2.0%
3 players out

Lens

Moderate impact
Missing attack share 14.0%
Missing minutes share 10.0%
6 players out 1 regular starter out
Key absences:
  • FW Franjo Ivanović 6% attack · 3% mins
  • FW Odsonne Édouard 6% attack · 3% mins

Share of team playing time and attacking output over the last 10 matches accounted for by unavailable players.

Tactical Profile & Play Quality (0–100)

RB Leipzig Lens
Box & Territory Pressure 61 46
Set-Piece & Corner Threat 57 48
Finishing Efficiency 90 50
Defensive & Goalkeeper Wall 73 18
Underlying Play Power 51 32
RB Leipzig Results above play quality (running hot)
Lens Playing above results (positive regression candidate)

OptimaGoal 0–100 performance indices built from the last 10 matches before kick-off.

Game-State Scenarios & Goal Timing

RB Leipzig

When scoring first 100% won · 100% unbeaten (7 matches)
When conceding first 12% points rescued · 12% won (8 matches)
1st Half: 37% 2nd Half: 63%
First 15': 6% Last 15' (76-90'): 23%

Lens

When scoring first 80% won · 80% unbeaten (5 matches)
When conceding first 30% points rescued · 20% won (10 matches)
1st Half: 40% 2nd Half: 60%
First 15': 8% Last 15' (76-90'): 20%

Reaction to scoring or conceding first and goal distribution across the last 15 matches.

Key Attacking Threats

RB Leipzig

  1. 1. FW Antonio Nusa 3G · 5A
    Team attack 16.0% Team shots 13.0%
  2. 2. FW Rômulo 4G · 0A
    Team attack 12.0% Team shots 12.0%
  3. 3. FW Christopher Nkunku 4G · 2A
    Team attack 11.0% Team shots 8.0%

Lens

  1. 1. MF Florian Thauvin 2G · 7A
    Team attack 27.0% Team shots 17.0%
  2. 2. MF Matthieu Udol 2G · 0A
    Team attack 9.0% Team shots 10.0%
  3. 3. MF Ruben Aguilar 2G · 1A
    Team attack 8.0% Team shots 6.0%

Top available players by share of team attacking production and shot volume over the last 10 matches.

RB Leipzig Lens
Over 1.5 goals 9/10 9/10
Over 2.5 goals 7/10 8/10
Over 3.5 goals 6/10 3/10
Both teams scored 5/10 7/10
Clean sheet 4/10 0/10
Failed to score 1/10 3/10
Goals per match (scored / conceded) 2.4 / 1.8 1.2 / 2.4

Last 10 matches, all competitions, results after 90 minutes.

Form guide

RB Leipzig

  • W 5-2 vs Augsburg (H) Bundesliga · 7 Nov
  • L 2-3 vs Manchester City (H) Champions League · 4 Nov
  • W 2-0 at Schalke 04 (A) Bundesliga · 31 Oct
  • W 2-1 at RW Essen (A) DFB Pokal · 27 Oct
  • W 4-0 vs Elversberg (H) Bundesliga · 24 Oct

Lens

  • L 1-2 vs Marseille (H) Ligue 1 · 8 Nov
  • L 1-9 vs Como (H) Champions League · 4 Nov
  • L 0-1 at Lille (A) Ligue 1 · 30 Oct
  • W 2-1 vs Paris FC (H) Ligue 1 · 24 Oct
  • L 0-3 at Club Brugge (A) Champions League · 21 Oct

Last five competitive matches before kick-off, all competitions, results after 90 minutes.

When the goals come

ScoredConceded

RB Leipzig

Lens

Goals in each 15-minute period, Champions League this season. Stoppage time counts with its half.

Top scorers

RB Leipzig

Player G A
Brajan Gruda 1 1
Andrija Maksimović 1 0
Antonio Nusa 1 0
Ridle Baku 1 0
Tidiam Gomis 1 0

Lens

Player G A
Ruben Aguilar 2 0
Florian Thauvin 1 1
Abdallah Sima 1 0

Goals and assists in the Champions League this season.

Corners and yellow cards

RB Leipzig Lens
  • 4.2 Corners won 6.2
  • 5.8 Corners conceded 3.8
  • 2.2 Yellow cards 1.8
  • 1.8 Opponents' yellow cards 0.5

Per match in the Champions League this season. Average per club and match: 4.7 corners, 1.7 yellow cards.

Attack and defence ratings

RB LeipzigLens
Attack 49 26 1.3 goals per match this season1.0 goals per match this season
Defence 40 23 2.8 conceded per match this season4.0 conceded per match this season

0 to 100 against this season's Champions League clubs (100 = best). The rating is our model's long-run strength before this match: it uses the last three years and counts recent matches most, so a few results do not move it at once. Under each rating: this season's actual goals per match.

1988Elo #31 Elo rating 1941Elo #49

Head-to-head

RB Leipzig and Lens have not met in our records since 2010.

Table

#Team PWDLGoalsGDPts
1 Paris Saint-Germain 4 400 20:5 +15 12
2 Real Madrid 4 400 13:7 +6 12
3 Arsenal 4 310 8:3 +5 10
4 Como 4 301 19:6 +13 9
5 Barcelona 4 301 14:6 +8 9
6 Aston Villa 4 301 12:6 +6 9
7 Manchester City 4 301 12:7 +5 9
8 Liverpool 4 301 14:10 +4 9
9 Club Brugge 4 301 11:7 +4 9
10 Sporting CP 4 301 8:4 +4 9
11 Real Betis 4 301 8:6 +2 9
12 Borussia Dortmund 4 301 7:5 +2 9
13 Bayern München 4 220 12:5 +7 8
14 VfB Stuttgart 4 211 7:4 +3 7
15 Inter 4 202 8:6 +2 6
16 LASK 4 202 10:9 +1 6
17 Manchester United 4 202 8:8 0 6
18 Galatasaray 4 202 8:9 -1 6
19 Fenerbahçe 4 121 6:11 -5 5
20 Roma 4 112 10:8 +2 4
21 Shakhtar Donetsk 4 112 4:4 0 4
22 Viking 4 112 9:10 -1 4
23 Atlético Madrid 4 112 4:5 -1 4
24 PSV Eindhoven 4 112 3:4 -1 4
25 Bodø/Glimt 4 112 4:9 -5 4
26 FC Porto 4 103 6:7 -1 3
27 Napoli 4 103 6:11 -5 3
28 Villarreal 4 103 8:14 -6 3
29 AEK Athens 4 103 5:11 -6 3
30 RB Leipzig 4 103 5:11 -6 3
31 Sabah FK 4 103 4:10 -6 3
32 Feyenoord 4 103 4:11 -7 3
33 Lens 4 103 4:16 -12 3
34 Slavia Prague 4 013 5:9 -4 1
35 Lille 4 013 4:10 -6 1
36 Slovan Bratislava 4 004 1:17 -16 0

Our table from the results; the two clubs of this match are highlighted. Full table

Season projection

Members

Where these two clubs are projected to finish in the Champions League: average points, likely range and chances.

ClubPts Avg ptsLikely Top 8Play-off round Win it
RB Leipzig 3
Lens 3

For members

Every club's chance of every place, from our simulated seasons, updated daily.

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Times are UTC.