Real Madrid vs RB Leipzig prediction 21.10.2026 | Champions League

Real Madrid return to Champions League action after claiming an impressive 4:1 La Liga victory against Sevilla on Sunday.

Arda Guler opened the scoring before in-form French forward Kylian Mbappe struck twice. Yan Diomande completed a commanding home win after Sevilla had pulled one back late in the contest.

Jose Mourinho's men have now won three successive matches in all competitions. Real edged to a 1:0 win against Villarreal before a dramatic 4:3 comeback win at Roma in their second UCL fixture last week. 

Los Blancos appeared destined for defeat after trailing 3:1 in the Italian capital, but late goals from Carlos Espi, Endrick and Antonio Rudiger completed a remarkable turnaround.

Mourinho’s side have a 100% record from their opening two Champions League fixtures. Real began their campaign with a 2:1 home victory against Inter before their seven-goal thriller in Rome.

The Spanish giants have been particularly impressive at the Bernabeu, winning all six home matches this season. Real scored an average of over three goals per game in those victories. 

Mourinho remains unable to call on three players this week. Rodrygo, Ferland Mendy and Raul Asencio all remain sidelined. 

Eder Militao made his first appearance in six months as a late substitute against Sevilla but is unlikely to start on Wednesday.

Vinicius Junior is available and should return to the first XI while Denzel Dumfries, Ibrahima Konate and Aurelien Tchouameni are also among those pushing for a recall. 

RB Leipzig travel to Spain after a humiliating 6:1 defeat against Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

Martin Demichelis's side conceded three times in the first half before Bayern added another three goals after the interval. Substitute Andrija Maksimovic scored Leipzig's late consolation with the visitors already six goals down.

The Red Bulls had gone into the contest with confidence after recording successive home victories against Eintracht Frankfurt (6:0) and PSV Eindhoven (1:0).

On the road, RB have struggled though. Leipzig began their European campaign with a disappointing 4:1 defeat at Como and have now lost seven successive away matches in this competition.

The Bundesliga side also lost three of their four away fixtures, conceding 12 goals across defeats at Como, Bayer Leverkusen and Bayern Munich.

Demichelis has several injury issues to contend with this week. Christoph Baumgartner, Assan Ouedraogo and Marc Guiu are expected to remain unavailable.

Rocco Reitz returned from injury as a substitute against Bayern and could come into the first XI. 

Ridle Baku, Nicolas Seiwald and Romulo Cardoso are also pushing for recalls.