Manchester City vs RB Leipzig: Tuesday, 8:00pm
Manchester City welcome RB Leipzig to the Etihad Stadium for the second leg of their Champions League clash, with the round-of-16 tie finely poised at 1-1 after the first leg.
Date, KO time and TV coverage
Champions League, round of 16, second leg, Tuesday, March 14, Kick-off 8pm, live on BT Sport
Predicted score
- Manchester City 4-2 RB Leipzig
Suggested bets
- RB Leipzig to score first vs Manchester City
- Manchester City vs RB Leipzig over 3.5 goals
- Manchester City to win and BTTS, yes
Key stats
- All three previous meetings between the sides has seen both teams score
- Man City have conceded just three goals in the Champions League this season
- Leipzig have lost just once away from home since September
- Man City have won 18 of their 20 home games in all competitions this season
- Leipzig won away at Celtic and Shakhtar in the group stages
Team news
Phil Foden shook off a foot problem to play an hour in the win at Crystal Palace but he could get a rest on Tuesday, with Riyad Mahrez or Julian Alvarez the likely beneficiary. City have no injury or suspension concerns, but Kevin De Bruyne could return to the XI.
Christopher Nkunku has a hamstring injury and will miss out for Leipzig. Peter Gulacsi, Abdou Diallo, Dani Olmo and Xaver Schlager are all missing. Amadou Haidara could deputise for Schlager alongside Konrad Laimer in midfield.
Manchester City vs RB Leipzig – Verdict
The first leg in Germany was a game of two halves as City dominated the first, scoring through Riyad Mahrez, but were pushed back in the second period, allowing the hosts to level.
Pep Guardiola’s men dominated possession over the 90 minutes, but were caught out on a number of occasions and they will have to defend balls into the box better at The Etihad.
City are a different proposition at home, though, and have lost once all season – to Brentford in November. In Europe they have also brushed Dortmund, Copenhagen and Seviila aside in M11.
They have won 11 of their 13 home games in the Premier League and the champions have been dominant in front of their own fans.
Their 6-3 demolition of Leipzig in the group stage in 2021 demonstrates exactly what they can do when they are in the mood. And their record against the Premier League’s big guns has been impressive on home soil.
Liverpool, Chelsea (twice), Arsenal and Manchester United have all been swatted away by Guardiola’s men at home and the 1/3 price is no surprise. Still, they should deliver another home win with a squad that is fully fit.
City generally take control quickly in home games and have scored first in 10 of 13 games, but in Europe things have not quite been that way. Both Dortmund and Sevilla opened the scoring and Leipzig have enough firepower to continue that trend.
Under Marco Rose, Leipzig have scored 63 times across 27 fixtures in all competitions, averaging 2.3 goals per game in the process. And they are a side that will arrive with a real plan to attack City.
Even without Nkunku, Leipzig have enough talent to trouble the hosts, with Dominik Szoboszlai rejuvenated by Rose and Emil Forsberg in red-hot goalscoring form. Timo Werner has also scored 13 goals in all competitions this season and Andre Silva was a Player of the Month nominee in the Bundesliga in January.
