Ralf Rangnick to keep seat hot for Julian Nagelsmann
Ralf Rangnick is the brains behind RB Leipzig’s rise. He is the sporting director, he is the one who led the team to promotion as a manager and he is the one who secured Julian Nagelsmann’s signature. Nagelsmann will depart Hoffenheim after this season and become RB Leipzig’s manager in 2019/20. By then, Rangnick will split his time between directing and coaching. He will share some of his coaching duties with Jesse Marsch, as New York Red Bull’s former manager is now his assistant.
RB Leipzig – Universitatea Craiova Preview
Red Bull Leipzig was rather inconsistent in the league last season, one year after finishing second behind Bayern Munich, as they had to balance between competing in Europe and in Germany. They entered the Europa League after securing third place in their inaugural CL group and eliminated two superior opponents in Napoli and Zenit before losing in the quarter-finals to the eventual finalist Olympique Marseille. All those demanding encounters took their toll and Ralph Hussenhutl’s team finished sixth in the cramped final Bundesliga standings.
Bet on RB Leipzig vs Universitatea Craiova with bet365
As a result, they had to start playing competitive matches early this summer. In the second qualifying round, RB Leipzig eliminated Sweden’s Hacken 5-1 on aggregate, winning the first leg at home 4-0.
Their next opponent is Universitatea Craiova 1948, a team which finished third in Romania’s first division and has never qualified for the group phase of any European competition other than the Intertoto Cup (once). Their 2018/19 season is off to a poor start. After losing to defending league champions CFR Cluj in the Romanian Super Cup, CS U Craiova drew two and lost one of their three league matches to kick off the new campaign.
RB Leipzig – Universitatea Craiova start time and date
Kick-off time: August 9, 18:30 CET/GMT+2
Venue: Red Bull Arena (Leipzig)
RB Leipzig team news
With Timo Werner absent, Jean-Kevin Augustin and new arrival Matheus Cunha will have to be the ones to provide the scoring touch for the home team. Emil Forsberg and Yussuf Poulsen are both back in the squad following their World Cup assignments, while Konrad Laimer, Marcel Halstenberg and starting centre back Dayot Upamecano are all out injured.
