RB Leipzig vs Manchester City: Wednesday, 8:00pm
Man City and Leipzig were paired together at the group stage last season and will renew rivalries in Germany on Wednesday night.
City thumped the Germans 6-3 at The Etihad before losing 2-1 in the return with their place in the knockout round already assured.
Kyle Walker was sent off that night and Pep Guardiola made seven changes to his side.
It would be stupid to read too much into that result with City’s foot hardly on the gas as they readied themselves for the round of 16.
City’s results have been patchy of late with defeats to Tottenham, Manchester United and Southampton.
Successive 3-1 wins over Aston Villa and Arsenal had sent CIty back to the top of the table. However, their 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest on Saturday allowed Arsenal to regain top spot.
City registered 23 shots on goal and had 73% possession, but they could not get the goals their play deserved and Forest earned a point.
The scoreline should not disguise a dominant display from City, who on any other day would have finished Forest by half-time.
Pep Guardiola labelled it a “brilliant performance” and a repeat of that in Saxony, with the goals, should see them take a lead back to The Etihad.
Guardiola’s men are odds-on to win the first leg of the round of 16 clash, but they will face a confident Leipzig side.
Marco Rose’s men are just four points off Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich after an impressive 3-0 win at Wolfsburg over the weekend.
Rose’s men dominated possession and ran out deserved 3-0 winners in a game in which Christopher Nkunku made his comeback from the bench.
The Chelsea-bound attacker is expected to start against City as Leipzig aim to continue their strong home record.
Only Union Berlin have won at the Red Bull Arena this term, while Lepizig beat Real Madrid at home in the Champions League group stages.
Nkunku and Dominik Szoboszlai have enough quality to cause City problems, but Guardiola’s men should get the first-leg job done.
Key stats
- Man City lost 2-1 at Leipzig in the CL last season
- Man City have lost three of their last 15 games in all competitions
- Both teams have scored in Man City’s last three games
- Leipzig have lost just one of their last 14 games in all competitions
- Only Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich have scored more than Leipzig’s 43 goals this season
- Leipzig have lost just one of their 10 home games in the Bundesliga
