Champions League Group D action continues with Red Bull Salzburg taking on Real Sociedad at the Red Bull Arena.
The home side’s impressive victory over Portuguese Champions Benfica on matchday one puts them one point ahead of the Spanish club who drew against Inter Milan.
Match Preview
The Austrian side’s 2-0 victory over Benfica in Lisbon was a shock result but it was well deserved.
Goals from Roko Simic and Oscar Gloukh sealed the win and ended Benfica’s unbeaten run of eight games.
Red Bull Salzburg will be hoping to build on this momentum when they take on Sociedad.
Despite suffering a 1-0 home loss to LASK Linz after beating Benfica, the Red Bulls have secured back-to-back 4-0 wins over Austria Salzburg in the cup and Austria Lustenau in the league since.
Their impressive home form in Europe will make them a tough opponent for La Liga side, Real Sociedad.
On matchday one, Real Sociedad took an early lead against Inter Milan through Brais Mendez but were pegged back by the Italian side’s equaliser.
They will be hoping to bounce back from this disappointment when they take on Red Bull Salzburg.
However, Sociedad should be wary of the Austrian team’s strength at home, with Salzburg only losing one of their last eight European games played at the Red Bull Arena.
Team News:
Red Bull Salzburg have several players out injured for this fixture, including Fernando, Moussa Kounfolo Yeo, Lukas Wallner and Justin Omoregie. Bryan Okoh could return from a hamstring injury but is unlikely to feature on Tuesday.
Real Sociedad will be without Kieran Tierney and Martin Merquelanz due to hamstring injuries, while David Silva is out with an ACL injury that has him sidelined until 2024. Arsen Zakharyan is also doubtful for the game due to contracting a virus.
Possible Starting Lineups:
Red Bull Salzburg:
Schlager;
Dedic, Baidoo, Pavlovic, Terzic;
Bidstrup, Gourna-Douath, Gloukh, Kjaergaard;
Simic, Konate
Real Sociedad:
Remiro;
Traore, Elustondo, Pacheco, Munoz;
Cho, Gonzalez, Turrientes, Merino;
Fernandez, Oyarzabal
Prediction:
With both teams in good form, this could be a closely contested match. It is likely that Red Bull Salzburg and Real Sociedad will share the spoils with a 1-1 draw.
