After the recent 2024/25 UEFA Champions League draw, Juventus know who they will have to take on in the League Phase of the competition. Opening their European campaign at home against PSV Eindhoven, the Bianconeri’s first away trip will take them to Germany, where RB Leipzig await.
It will be the first time the two clubs have met, though the Bundesliga outfit have some experience against Italian opposition, having played both Napoli and Atalanta in recent Europa League seasons. In their four games against Italian sides, they have won twice, drawn once, and lost once.
LEIPZIG’S HISTORY
RassenBallsport Leipzig, the club’s official name, was a creative way around rules that prohibit corporate names forming part of club names in Germany, allowing for Red Bull’s “RB” to remain. The meaning of RassenBallsport is literally “Lawn Ball Sports.
They are a club unlike most others in Europe in that they are not a historic side with 20th-century roots, but instead one that was born in 2009 with the aim of climbing as quickly as they could through the German football pyramid.
Leipzig succeeded in their aims, and made it to the top flight as soon as 2016. They finished as runners-up in their first Bundesliga season, sixth in their second, and they have consistently finished in the top four since 2018.
In Europe, they have reached the semi-finals of both the Champions League (2020) and the Europa League (2022), and they have collected silverware in the German Cup and Super Cup.
LEIPZIG THIS SEASON
The 2024/25 season has started well for Marco Rose’s side, picking up two wins from their two Bundesliga fixtures so far.
The German side will prove to be tricky opponents for Juventus in October, then, and they will be just one of the obstacles that will need to be overcome on this European adventure.
See you in Leipzig on Wednesday, 2 October!