Como vs RB Leipzig - prediction, team news, lineups

By Jonathan O'Shea | 08 Sep 2026 13:30, Last updated: 08 Sep 2026 13:30

Capping their meteoric rise by bringing Champions League football to little Stadio Singaglia, debutants Como will host RB Leipzig on Thursday evening.

After spending big to join Europe's elite, the Italian club are following in the footsteps of fellow outsiders Leipzig, who went all the way to the semi-finals six years ago.

Not only are Como embarking on their first Champions League campaign, but it is also their first in any UEFA competition, following a club-record fourth placed finish in Serie A last season.

Surging to the line with four wins from their final five games was enough to snatch a precious top-four spot ahead of established giants AC Milan and Juventus.

It marked an incredible achievement for a team that had only been promoted back to Italy's top tier two years before, and were languishing down in Serie D as recently as 2019.

Led by Cesc Fabregas, they also reached their first Coppa Italia semi-final, narrowly losing on aggregate to eventual winners Inter Milan after a late second-leg collapse at San Siro.

Como's super-rich owners are starting to see serious returns on their investment: only Inter have accrued more points this calendar year, and the Lariani have just beaten both Napoli and Genoa away from home.

Serie A's biggest spenders since 2024, they have built a squad packed with attacking talent - including key creator Nico Paz and top scorer Tasos Douvikas - but also kept a league-high 19 clean sheets last term.

As a result, the Lombardy club have big ambitions under Fabregas, who made 104 Champions League appearances in his playing days, so they will expect to outlast fellow debutants Sabah, LASK and Viking.

While Como are rookies, this will be Leipzig's eighth Champions League campaign since making their European debut in the group stage nine years ago. 

However, the German club's most recent appearance did not go to plan, as they finished 32nd in the 2024-25 league phase following seven defeats and one win.

Semi-finalists in 2020, Leipzig are now back at Europe's top table after a one-season absence, having finished third in the league last term; that was not enough for Ole Werner to keep his job, so Martin Demichelis is now at the helm.

Managing at this level for the first time, Demichelis made 67 Champions League appearances as a player for Bayern Munich, Manchester City and Malaga, once facing Fabregas when City were beaten by Barcelona.

In three domestic games so far, his team swept aside Eintracht Trier in the DFB-Pokal and Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga before losing 3-1 to Werder Bremen last week.

An away loss will not ease concerns about visiting Como's quirky lakeside home, as Leipzig have taken just one point from their last six Champions League road trips.

Both clubs have been busy bolstering their squad for the league phase, and Como's most eye-catching buy may be Moise Kean, who registered five goals and one assist from six previous Champions League matches.

The Italy striker made his first cameo from the bench during Friday's 4-1 win over Genoa, but current frontman Douvikas racked up 14 goals in Serie A last season and has already added two more this term.

Paz played a few minutes in this competition with Real Madrid but will now get his first proper crack at making an impact; Martin Baturina and Assane Diao are also set to feature in the final third.

Only long-term absentee Jayden Addai is injured, so Fabregas has an almost full squad for Como's return to the Sinigaglia - they started with three away games while the stadium was upgraded to meet UEFA regulations.

By contrast, Leipzig will travel without Rocco Reitz, Romulo and Christoph Baumgartner, the latter of whom notched a career-high 17 goals across all competitions last season.

Brajan Gruda and Assan Ouedraogo are also doubts, but Spanish striker Marc Guiu recently arrived from Chelsea and Christopher Nkunku has rejoined on loan from Milan.

Although Yan Diomande departed in the summer, Antonio Nusa - who scored on his Champions League debut for Club Brugge aged 17 - will still provide support from out wide.

Butez; Couto, Chalobah, Ramon, Valle; Perrone, Da Cunha; Diao, Paz, Baturina; Douvikas

Vandevoordt; Baku, Orban, Lukeba, Raum; El Aynaoui, Seiwald, Banzuzi; Bakayoko, Nkunku, Nusa

There may be more Champions League experience within Leipzig's squad, but Como have developed into a slick machine under Fabregas and could prove difficult to stop.

Add in a return to home turf after touring Italy for the past few weeks, and the Lariani should mark their debut with maximum points.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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