Manchester City host RB Leipzig on Tuesday evening as they aim to continue their perfect Champions League record this season.
Pep Guardiola’s side have won all four of their Group G games and they have already booked their place in the knockout stage.
The reigning champions are cruising in Europe again Credit: Getty
They now come up against Leipzig for the second time after beating them 3-1 in Germany last month thanks to goals from Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez and Jeremy Doku.
The Bundesliga outfit have also secured a place in the last 16 but they will still be keen to take top spot from City who beat them 7-0 when they faced each other in the last 16 of the competition last term.
Manchester City vs RB Leipzig: Easy for Erling
RB Leipzig will be seeing Erling Haaland’s face in their nightmares ahead of the game.
The superstar has scored more goals against Leipzig than against any other team in his career, netting 11 times in only seven appearances against the Germans while playing for both Man City and Borussia Dortmund.
Five of those strikes came earlier this year in City’s 7-0 win when the Norweigan ran riot to send his side through to the quarter-finals.
His overall stats in the Champions League are unbelievable and he doesn’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. He is averaging well over a goal a game with a total of 39 goals in 34 matches and he will be aiming to add more on Tuesday.
Haaland’s Champions League record is incredible
- This will be Manchester City’s sixth Champions League match against RB Leipzig, winning three of the previous five (D1 L1). On home soil, they’ve won 6-3 (September 2021) and 7-0 (March 2023).
- Leipzig have lost their last four away Champions League matches in England by an aggregate score of 20-3. They are looking for their first away win in England since February 2020, when they won 1-0 against Spurs.
Manchester City vs RB Leipzig: Team news
City may still be without Jack Grealish for their Champions League clash. He missed the 1-1 draw with Liverpool at the weekend through illness and Guardiola is ‘not optimistic’ about his chances of a return.
It was the same news for Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes, who are both carrying knocks.
John Stones returned to the bench on Saturday though, as he moves closer to full fitness following a long spell on the sidelines.
Kevin De Bruyne now looks set for a comeback in January after surgery on his hamstring.
As for Leipzig, former Chelsea striker Timo Werner is out along with Dani Olmo, Willi Orban and El Chadaille Bitshiabu.
Other than that, manager Marco Rose has a full squad to choose from.
Grealish could still be unavailable for Man City Credit: Getty
- Man City are unbeaten in their last 17 games in the Champions League (W12 D5), with their last such defeat coming in May 2022 against Real Madrid (semi-final, second leg).
- Leipzig have won both of their away games in the Champions League this season (3-1 v Young Boys, 2-1 v Red Star Belgrade), and could equal their longest winning streak away from home in the competition with a victory here (previously three games between November 2017 and November 2019).
Manchester City vs RB Leipzig: What has been said?
Guardiola believes the Man City fans need to create as much noise as they can at the Etihad Stadium for his players to perform better.
He said in his press conference: “The stadium is always full, we have to play as best as possible, create as much to energise the people.
“I had the feeling the team is playing really good, a few moments against Liverpool to take some tips for tomorrow. Many things we’ve done well.
“These players have done for many years, we love to do it together. The games last season, important games, against Arsenal for the Premier League, they were there.
“We need that, my humble opinion – to be successful we need our fans. Thank you so much, without them not possible to be here.
“Together we are stronger, for them to be part of our game is much better and we feel they are there. We play better.
“We have to do the first steps all the time. Tomorrow hopefully they can come and enjoy the game.”
Guardiola wants to see more from his home fansCredit: Getty
- Jeremy Doku has completed 17 of his 24 take-on attempts for Man City in the Champions League (71 per cent). Despite only playing 146 minutes in the competition so far this term, no player has completed more take-ons than the Belgian winger through the first four matchdays.
- 20-year-old Xavi Simons has scored in his last two Champions League games for RB Leipzig (two goals). Only one Dutch player aged under 21 has scored in three consecutive appearances in the competition, with Patrick Kluivert doing so for Ajax in 1995 (aged 19).
