On Wednesday evening, RB Salzburg host Lokomotiv Moscow at the Red Bull Arena in Group A of the Champions League.
The home team have made a bright start to the campaign at home and abroad, as Jesse Marsch’s team heads into this clash top of the Austrian Bundesliga. The Champions League will be the big test of the home side’s progress so far this season, though.
Salzburg made it through to the group stage with a comfortable 5-2 aggregate victory over Israeli team Maccabi Tel Aviv.
The home side has a mixed recent record in European football’s elite competition. However, last season Salzburg were in a tough group alongside European champions Liverpool and also Italian team Napoli.
For relative newcomers in the group stages, the home team do not have a terrible record in the Champions League, winning four of their last eight games in the competition. Salzburg have also won nine of their previous 14 matches on home soil in Europe’s elite competition.
Lokomotiv Moscow are unbeaten in six matches. That recent positive run of form should give the Russian team confidence heading into this clash, which will be needed as the visitors lost their last five games in the Champions League last season.
However, like Salzburg, Lokomotiv were in a tough group, having to face Juventus, Atletico Madrid and German outfit Bayer Leverkusen. The Russian side’s defeats were caused by some poor defending, as they conceded at least twice in all five defeats, while also failing to score in three of the five games.
Looking back slightly further at Lokomotiv’s recent record in the Champions League and it does not make good reading, as the visitors have won just two of their last 14 matches in Europe’s elite competition.
Forebet predicts that the prolific Salzburg will continue to show their prowess in front of goal and record a victory in a high-scoring encounter.