Leipzig aim to get better of Beşiktaş

RB Leipzig could extend their debut European campaign into the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds as they conclude their Group G programme at home to section winners Beşiktaş JK.

• The German club, beaten 2-0 in Istanbul on matchday two, have seven points, level with FC Porto and four behind Beşiktaş. With Porto facing eliminated AS Monaco FC on matchday six, Leipzig must pick up more points than the Portuguese outfit to finish second.

• Beşiktaş will finish as group winners.

Match background

Leipzig
• This is the German side's first home game against Turkish opponents, and just their sixth European fixture overall.

• At home, Leipzig's group record is W1 D1. They opened with a 1-1 draw against Monaco before beating Porto 3-2.

• Leipzig qualified for a first foray into European competition by finishing second in the 2016/17 Bundesliga – in what, remarkably, was their first season in the German top flight.

• Leipzig are the 12th club to represent Germany in the UEFA Champions League group stage.

• On matchday one, the German side became the first team from any country to make their European debut in the UEFA Champions League group stage.

Beşiktaş
• This is the first time Beşiktaş have reached the UEFA Champions League knockout rounds. Their best European Cup campaign came in 1986/87 when they got to the quarter-finals before losing 7-0 on aggregate to FC Dynamo Kyiv.

• The Turkish outfit have won both away games so far in this season's competition, running out 3-1 winners at Porto on matchday one and 2-1 at Monaco.

• Beşiktaş have never won in Germany, where their record is D1 L3, scoring twice on their four visits while conceding six. Their most recent trip brought a 0-0 draw at VfL Wolfsburg in the 2009/10 group stage. 

• Victory at Monaco was Beşiktaş's fifth in their last 11 European away matches (D3 L3).

• In 2016/17, Beşiktaş came third in their group and moved into the UEFA Europa League, where they advanced as far as the quarter-finals before losing on penalties to Olympique Lyonnais.

• The Istanbul club collected four points on their travels in last year's group stage, the highlight a 3-2 triumph at Napoli.

Coach and player links
• Beşiktaş coach Şenol Güneş encountered West Germany in three UEFA European Championship qualifiers during his time as a goalkeeper. He kept a clean sheet in Turkey's goalless draw in Izmir on 1 April 1979, and suffered a 2-0 away defeat that December. The nations met again in the preliminaries for the 1984 UEFA European Championship, Turkey losing 3-0 in April 1983.

• There are three Germany-born players in the Beşiktaş squad: Cenk Tosun (born in Wetzlar), Tolgay Arslan (Paderborn) and Orkan Çınar (Dortmund).

• Atınç Nukan, who is not in Beşiktaş's UEFA Champions League squad, is on loan from Leipzig.

• Have played in Germany:
Duško Tošić (SV Werder Bremen 2007–10)
Ryan Babel (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim 2011–12)
Cenk Tosun (Eintracht Frankfurt 2008–11)
Tolgay Arslan (Hamburger SV 2009–15, TSV Alemannia Aachen 2010/11)
Orkan Çınar (VfL Wolfsburg 2013/14, SpVgg Greüther Fürth 2014/15)

• Has played in Turkey:
Bruma (Galatasaray AŞ 2013–17, Gaziantepspor 2014)

• Have played together:
Marvin Compper & Ryan Babel (Hoffenheim, 2011–12)
Dominik Kaiser & Ryan Babel (Hoffenheim, 2011–12)
Péter Gulácsi & Ryan Babel (Liverpool, 2008–11)

• International team-mates:
Bruma & Ricardo Quaresma, Pepe (Portugal)

• Bruma scored Real Sociedad de Fútbol's goal in a 3-1 Liga loss to Pepe's Real Madrid CF in December 2015.

• Álvaro Negredo netted twice in Sevilla FC's 5-1 Spanish Liga victory over Fabio Coltorti's Real Racing Club Santander in May 2010; Adriano was also in the Sevilla team.

• Quaresma and Pepe have twice got the better of Gulásci's Hungary in qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, Portugal winning 3-0 at home in March 2017 and 1-0 away on 3 September.

• Stefan Ilsanker and Marcel Sabitzer were in the Austria side that drew 0-0 with Portugal, who included Quaresma and Pepe, in the UEFA EURO 2016 group stage.

Match facts

Leipzig 
• Marcel Halstenberg and Willi Orban are both a booking away from a ban.

• Leipzig had won three and drawn one of their last four matches prior to Saturday's 4-0 loss at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim. That was their heaviest defeat since May 2015.

• Timo Werner has scored five goals in his last six games for Leipzig.

• Bernardo scored his first Bundesliga goal in the 2-0 win against SV Werder Bremen on 25 November.

• Marcel Sabitzer is expected to be out for the rest of the year because of a shoulder injury he suffered on matchday five.

• Stefan Ilsanker returned against Hoffenheim at the weekend, having not featured since 14 October due to suspension then a toe injury.

Beşiktaş
• Tolgay Arslan and Caner Erkin are both a booking away from a ban.

• The Black Eagles are 22 matches unbeaten at home in all competitions (W15 D7), drawing four of the last six.

• Beşiktaş are unbeaten in 34 home matches in the Turkish Super League, a run stretching back to November 2015.

• Prior to Saturday's 3-0 defeat of Galatasaray AŞ – their biggest win in the fixture since 1988 – Beşiktaş had failed to score in their last two Super League matches, the first time this had happened since May 2015.

• Beşiktaş have only won three of their last nine Super League matches.

• All four of Ryan Babel's Super League goals this season have been scored in away matches while Talisca's six goals in all competitions this term were scored in the first half.

• Beşiktaş beat second-tier Manisaspor 9-0 in the Turkish Cup fifth round first leg on 28 November, Álvaro Negredo scoring four for the first time since 2013 and Jeremain Lens claiming his first hat-trick since 2011.

• It was the club's biggest win since a 10-0 victory in the same competition against Çorluspor in the 1998/99 season.

• Orkan Çınar made his Beşiktaş debut and scored in that match.

• Pepe picked up a groin injury during the warm-up before the goalless draw at Yeni Malatyaspor on 25 November. Matej Mitrović made his first start of the season as a result.

• Fatih Aksoy made his league debut in that game, replacing the injured Necip Uysal.

• Caner Erkin is currently serving a six-match domestic ban, due to run until 17 December.