Europa League opponents Zenit

Round of 16 second leg in St. Petersburg | Draw in Russian Premier League | Paredes again eligible to face RB Leipzig | Unbeaten at home in the Europa League | New home ground and World Cup venue

Die Roten Bullen continue on Expedition Europa! RB Leipzig face top Russian club Zenit St. Petersburg away on Thursday (KO 19:00 CET).

Following the 2-1 home win in the RB-Arena, the Leipzig boys are looking to qualify for the quarter-finals.

We put the hosts under the microscope ahead of the match.

Die Roten Bullen beat Zenit 2-1 at home in the first leg!

League

Zenit St. Petersburg in the Russian Premier League

Zenit St. Petersburg are currently in fifth position in the Russian top flight with 39 points. Three club from the country’s capital occupy the top three places in the table; namely Lokomotiv Moscow with 49 points, CSKA Moscow and Spartak Moscow (both on 41 points). Zenit were unbeaten in the league up until the 13th matchday; two matchdays later the team had to concede its position at the top of the table.

Roberto Mancini’s team played FC Rostov after losing 2-1 in Leipzig and drew 0-0 and dropped one place in the table. However, it’s still all to play for for next year’s Champions League spots. The winners and second-placed team qualify for the Champions League directly, while the third-placed side goes into the play-offs.

RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga

Die Roten Bullen also drew 0-0 at the weekend against VfB Stuttgart. The team now have 40 points and are sixth in the table.

While the upcoming league opponents, Bayern Munich, can win the Bundesliga title on Sunday, there is still an exciting race for next season’s European spots in the league.

Russian Premier League table (source: eng.rfpl.org)

Squad updates:

Zenit St. Petersburg:

Emanuel Mammana: The Argentinian centre-back picked up a knee injury in the last game. The first-team regular is predicted to be out for six to nine months.

Daler Kuzyayev: The midfielder was injured in the last league game and limped off the pitch in the 70th minute. It is unsure whether the 25-year-old Russian will be able to play in Thursday’s second leg game.

Leandro Paredes: The midfield player has served his yellow-card suspension and is eligible to play in the second leg fixture in St. Petersburg. The 23-year-old Argentinian has picked up 12 scorer points in all competitions so far this season (five goals, seven assists).

Emanuel Mammana (celebrating Domenico Criscito after his first-leg goal) will be out for up to nine months.

RB Leipzig:

Konrad Laimer: The defender had to leave the field in the first leg after he picked up an adductor injury. The 20-year-old returned to training on Monday, but worked individually.

Kevin Kampl: The 27-year-old midfielder missed the first-leg match against Zenit and the league game against VfB Stuttgart with muscular problems in his knee.

Whether Laimer and Kampl will be fit in time for the second-leg match against St. Petersburg remains to be seen.

Ademola Lookman: Our January signing will miss the game against St. Petersburg because the 20-year-old has already appeared for Everton in the Europa League, so is not eligible to play.

Side note:
Timo Werner (3) and Bruma (2) have scored all of Leipzig’s goals in the Europa League so far!

All of RB Leipzig's Europa League goals have been scored by Bruma (pictured here celebrating his opener in the first leg)...

... and Timo Werner, who scored his third goal in the competition against Zenit.

Strong home record:

League:

Zenit have racked up six wins and two draws in ten home games this season. The team have only been beaten twice at home in the league.

Europa League:

The Russian side have an immaculate record at home since the group stages of the competition. They’ve won all four home games, scoring 11 goals and conceding only three in the process.

Construction of the modern Zenit Arena was finished one year ago and will be a hosting venue for the 2018 World Cup (source: Piter-Arena press photo).

Saint-Petersburg Stadium

Zenit’s home ground is located on the Krestovsky Island in the centre of St. Petersburg. The stadium is also known as the Krestovsky Stadium or the Zenit Arena.