Red Bull Salzburg vs Genk Preview and Prediction – Champions League 2019/2020

Red bull Salzburg vs Genk
Champions League 2019/20 season
Venue: Red Bull Arena Salzburg
Date: Tuesday, 17th September, 2019
Kick-off time: 10pm EAT

Red Bull Salzburg host Genk in their first Champions League game in three years on Tuesday.

Three years have elapsed since Salzburg have qualified for the group stage of the Champions League. They won the Austrian Bundesliga last season, which played a part in their path to the Champions League. In the previous three seasons, they were knocked out in the qualifying stage. The Europa League was their haven then, where they failed to progress past the round of 16. Napoli knocked them out of Europe last season in the Europa League.

They have continued to dominate the domestic landscape. Salzburg have won their first seven league games and are first in the table with 34 goals, while conceding just six themselves. Striker Erling Braut Haland has starred for them and has scored 11 goals so far this season with has four assists to his name. He scored a hat-trick this weekend in the win over Hartberg.

Salzburg won 7-2 against Hartberg, but a 6-0 thrashing of St Polten in August took that honour for Salzburg. In the first seven games, Salzburg have kept three clean sheets and hope to defend their crown for the sixth consecutive time. The last time they failed to win the Bundesliga was in 2013 when Austria Wien won it. 

Salzburg face another defending domestic champion Genk who have won the Belgian Pro League by a close margin last season. Genk had 52 points at the end in the Championship round, which was only two more than Club Brugge. Their last league title had come back in 2011. However, they are in ninth place after seven games this season who have lost three games.

Genk travelled to face Charleroi and succumbed to a 2-1 defeat. Paul Onuachu scored the only goal for Genk. They featured in the Europa League last season and bowed out in the round of 32 at the hands of Slavia Prague. Genk’s last Champions League campaign came way back in 2012. They crashed out of the group stage that season, failing to win a single game. The Belgian side will hope for a better outcome for this campaign.