Manchester City will secure top spot in Group G if they avoid defeat against RB Leipzig on Tuesday night.
These two sides have already booked their places in the Champions League round of 16 and City are the distinct favourites to claim top spot having beaten the Bundesliga side 3-1 in the reverse fixture. A point will do for Pep Guardiola’s side in midweek, although the Spaniard will be keen to oversee a victory after they were pegged back by Liverpool at the weekend.
Leipzig, meanwhile, were beaten after the November break and are slowly slipping down the Bundesliga table having made such a bright start to the campaign.
Here’s 90min’s preview of City’s upcoming Champions League clash with RB Leipzig.
Manchester City vs RB Leipzig H2H record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
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Country |
TV channel/live stream |
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United Kingdom |
discovery+ App, discovery+, TNT Sports 1, TNT Sports Ultimate |
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United States |
Paramount+, ViX |
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Canada |
DAZN |
After making no substitutions at the weekend, Guardiola will certainly rotate his starting XI heavily on Tuesday night.
Josko Gvardiol and Rico Lewis are among those that could start in midweek, while John Stones returned to the matchday against Liverpool following a brief absence. Jack Grealish missed the draw with the Reds through illness and might not recover in time.
Matheus Nunes and Mateo Kovacic remain out for the hosts, as does Kevin De Bruyne.
Manchester City predicted lineup vs RB Leipzig (3-4-2-1): Ederson; Walker, Dias, Gvardiol; Lewis, Rodri; Bobb, Alvarez, Bernardo, Doku; Haaland.
The visitors are without several key names and particularly short-handed in attack. Marco Rose won’t be able to call upon Timo Werner or Dani Olmo.
Benjamin Sesko should be available despite being an unused substitute at Wolfsburg on Saturday. He returned from international duty with a knock and likely won’t be fit to start against City.
Stalwart defender Willi Orban will also miss out.
RB Leipzig predicted lineup vs Manchester City (4-2-2-2): Blaswich; Henrichs, Simakan, Lukeba, Raum; Haidara, Schlager; Forsberg, Simons; Poulsen, Openda.
Leipzig proved they can hurt City in the reverse fixture, but their recent trips to the Etihad haven’t exactly been prosperous. Guardiola’s side have scored 13 in the previous two meetings on home soil.
While we shouldn’t expect a thrashing on Tuesday night, City should stroll to another comfortable Champions League win. This is a Leipzig side that has been up and down either side of the November break and they’re not capable of going into the Etihad and snapping City’s imperious continental run.
Prediction: Manchester City 3-1 RB Leipzig
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