After two days of Champions League qualifiers on Tuesday and Wednesday, Thursday brings Europa League qualifiers with almost 50 matches taking place. One of the stand-out ties is RB Leipzig’s second qualifying round first-leg clash with Hacken.

STATS

• RB Leipzig finished 6^th in the Bundesliga last term after looking as though they’d steal the final Champions League spot. The Europa League was good to the German side where they were knocked out at the quarter-final stage against Marseille. They drew 2-2 in their friendly on Tuesday against German minnows, ZFC Meuselwitz but the players in action won’t play on Thursday.
• BK Hacken had a decent 2017 season as they finished 4^th in the Allsvenskan and weren’t far off closing the gap on 2^nd and 3^rd. They’re currently in the bottom half of the table at the halfway stage of the campaign so another European finish looks very unrealistic. They beat Liepâja 4-2 on aggregate in the first qualifying round after winning the away leg 3-0.
• Timo Werner was in great goalscoring form last season with 21 goals in all competitions, at least nine ahead of any of his team-mates.
• There isn’t a single player who has scored more Swedish top-flight goals this term than Paulinho of Hacken, who has nine in 12 appearances.
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HEAD TO HEAD

It’s no surprise that these two sides have never met in the past with RB Leipzig’s establishment coming in the 21^st century. Hacken aren’t particularly European regulars either.

RB LEIPZIG NEWS

It is vital that RB Leipzig take a win into the second leg and attempt to avoid conceding a goal that could come back to haunt them. They have no definite absences heading into the clash which is a great benefit ahead of a potentially big match.

Latest matches: RB Leipzig

24.07.2018	Club	ZFC Meuselwitz	RB Leipzig	2:2	D
12.05.2018	Bund	Hertha BSC	RB Leipzig	2:6	W
05.05.2018	Bund	RB Leipzig	VfL Wolfsburg	4:1	W
29.04.2018	Bund	1 FSV Mainz 05	RB Leipzig	3:0	L
21.04.2018	Bund	RB Leipzig	1899 Hoffenheim	2:5	L

HACKEN NEWS

A successful result for Hacken would be to avoid defeat and score at least one away goal in the process. A narrow loss wouldn’t be a drama as the second-leg is on their patch. Like Leipzig, they have no serious injuries which enhances their chance of victory.

Latest matches: BK Hacken

22.07.2018	Alls	Djurgardens IF	BK Hacken	2:1	L
19.07.2018	UEFA	BK Hacken	FK Liepaja	1:2	L
15.07.2018	Alls	IFK Norrkoping	BK Hacken	2:1	L
12.07.2018	UEFA	FK Liepaja	BK Hacken	0:3	W
07.07.2018	Alls	BK Hacken	GIF Sundsvall	3:0	W

SUMMARY

RB Leipzig are big favourites to take an advantage into the second-leg and it could be a considerable one with them having a far superior squad to their counterparts. Hacken will just be hoping to hold on in this one and could strike the hosts against the run of play. A handicap bet in favour of Leipzig might be wise ahead of this first-leg.