What happened
Como 1907 host RB Leipzig at the Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia tonight, Thursday 10 September, at 21:00 Como time. UEFA lists it as the opening league-phase fixture for both clubs. It is Como’s first Champions League match and the first competitive meeting between the teams.
The useful news arrived after our earlier previews. Leipzig coach Martín Demichelis confirmed that Brajan Gruda, Rômulo and Castello Lukeba are back in the squad after missing Saturday’s 3–1 defeat at Werder Bremen. Leipzig’s official match page also frames tonight as their return to the competition after a season away.
Neither club had published a starting eleven when this briefing was checked. Any lineup before the official team sheets remains a projection.
Three late clues
First, Leipzig have more ways to change the centre of the pitch. Gruda gives them another receiver between midfield and attack, while Lukeba adds a defender comfortable carrying the ball forward. Como cannot prepare only for the side that struggled in Bremen.
Second, Rômulo’s availability changes the Christopher Nkunku question. Nkunku started through the middle at Bremen but often moved toward the ball, leaving Leipzig without a consistent target for crosses. A natural centre-forward can occupy the centre-backs and free Nkunku to arrive from a less predictable starting position.
Third, Leipzig have made their intention clear. Demichelis said his side wants to stay compact without the ball but will not spend the night defending in its own half. That points toward an aggressive opening in which both teams try to establish possession and territory rather than wait for the other to make the first move.
The Como view
The first fifteen minutes matter because Como should learn quickly whether Leipzig are pressing with a centre-forward alone or pushing an extra attacker onto the second centre-back. The answer determines whether the safe exit is through Máximo Perrone, around the press through a full-back, or directly into the striker.
Sempre Como Editorial Desk
Rômulo’s return should make Como’s centre-backs more disciplined about when to step forward. If one follows Nkunku into midfield while the other is pinned by a number nine, Leipzig can open the channel beside them. The safer response is for a midfielder to take the first responsibility for Nkunku whenever possible, leaving the back line connected.
At the other end, the Douvikas-or-Kean debate is less about choosing a name than choosing a job. Como need the striker to occupy Lukeba and Willi Orbán long enough for Nico Paz, Martin Baturina and Assane Diao to receive facing goal. If Leipzig’s centre-backs can keep stepping into midfield without consequence, Como’s best creators will spend too much of the night receiving with their backs to the game.
The occasion will produce its own energy. Como’s advantage comes from giving that energy a structure: one full-back advances while the other protects, the nearest midfielder stays close enough to stop the first counter, and the front four attack as soon as Leipzig’s compact shape begins to turn.
Bottom line
Leipzig arrive with more available players and an explicit promise to be proactive. Como should welcome that ambition. If the first press is beaten cleanly, the visitors will leave exactly the spaces that Paz, Baturina and Diao can punish. Be calm enough to draw Leipzig forward, then brave enough to play through them.