Inside RB Leipzig ahead of Rangers Europa League tie as burnout fears threaten pursuit of historic first major trophy

RB Leipzig might need some of the fuel their backers Red Bull provide through their popular energy drink.

The Bundesliga side have had a jam-packed schedule as they chase an historic first major trophy in their history.

And Rangers will be hoping the Germans are running on empty by the time they arrive in east of the country for the first leg of their Europa League semi final on Thursday.

Domenico Tedesco’s side suffered their first defeat in 15 games when they went down to two late goals at home to Union Berlin at the weekend.

Their previous loss came when they went down to 10-in-a-row champions Bayern Munich by the odd goal in five back in February.

It’s been an impressive run but could there be signs of fatigue as they close in history with the German Cup – they take on Freiburg in the Final on May 21 – and the Europa League their two shots at glory.

German journalist Yvonne Gabriel has followed RB Leipzig on every step of their journey in her role covering the club for BILD having attended their first ever training session after their 2009 foundation.

And she gave her thoughts on the latest edition of the Record Rangers podcast ahead of the showdown.

“For me, it seems like the team is tired just now,” she observed. “They have had 44 matches this season and the only German club in three competitions – Bundesliga, German Cup and Europa League.

“They have a big squad but at the weekend and the two previous matches – the German Cup semi final against Union Berlin and league match against Leverkusen – it looks like the team are losing a bit of their power so it will be interesting to see how they perform in the run-in.”

Rangers fans will take hope from the fact they defeated Borussia Dortmund earlier in the