RB Leipzig vs Manchester City: Hosts look to cause major upset

Topics: TV Schedules, TV Listings, RB Leipzig, Manchester City, UEFA Champions League

The Cityzens will look to kick off their Champions League knockout campaign on a good foot, but could face a tricky test when they travel to face RB Leipzig.

Manchester City will be looking to kick off their Champions League knockout campaign on a good note when the Cityzens travel to face German outfit RB Leipzig on Wednesday evening. Pep Guardiola's side were surprisingly beaten 2-1 by Leipzig in last season's edition, a result that was quite shocking considering they had thoroughly beaten the German side 6-3 in a nine goal thriller on matchday one of the 2021/22 Champions League group stages.

The visiting side come into this contest having experienced mixed fortunes last week. After earning a well-deserved 3-1 win over Arsenal to force the title race back open, the reigning Premier League champions suffered a setback as they were held to a frustrating one-all stalemate against a Nottingham Forest side who put on a strong defensive performance to snatch a point. That result sees them now two points behind Arsenal, but of concern is the fact that the Gunners still do have a game in hand that could shift things in their favor.

As such, the English powerhouse will look to firmly put that behind them as they take on a side that snapped their 15-match unbeaten streak in the Champions League last season. Having secured passage from the round of 16 in their last five appearances in this competition, the Cityzens will look to make a sixth successive result as they hope to take one step closer towards winning the one trophy that has eluded them so far: the Champions League.

Meanwhile, Leipzig earned a comfortable 3-0 win over Wolfsburg to keep die Roten Bullen in the race for the Bundesliga title. While Bayern naturally are always favorites, the Bundesliga race is actually more interesting this time around, with several teams, including Leipzig very much in it as they sit just four point behind the league leaders. Marco Rose's side had a rough start to their Champions League campaign but were able to pick up four wins from their last four group stage campaigns to finish as runners-up in Group F, behind current title-holders Real Madrid.

Match facts: RB Leipzig vs Manchester City

Manchester City have only lost one of their previous 17 matches against German sides in the Champions League (W14 D2)
Leipzig have failed to win their last three UCL knockout matches without scoring a goal
Erling Haaland has scored six times in four prior appearances against RB Leipzig
Christopher Nkunku will be hoping to set a club record - if he plays and scores, he'll become the first Leipzig player to net in three consecutive matches in the Champions League
This will be the third meeting between Leipzig and City in the UCL

Team news: RB Leipzig vs Manchester City

RB Leipzig: Both Christopher Nkunku and Konrad Laimer could feature in some capacity here after coming over the bench during Leipzig's recent weekend match. However, Dani Olmo, Abdou Diallo, and Peter Gulacsi are all still out injured.

Manchester City: The visitors have been dealt a huge blow, with key midfielder Kevin De Bruyne ruled out for this match due to illness. Additional absentees include John Stones and Aymeric Laporte as a result of injury and illness respectively.