RB Leipzig vs Manchester City – News and Probable Lineups

The head coach of RB Leipzig, Martin Demichelis, will prepare his squad for a Champions League fixture against Manchester City at the Red Bull Arena on Wednesday night.

This will be the first encounter between the two teams since their last meeting in November 2023, where Manchester City mounted a comeback from a two-goal deficit at half time to secure a thrilling 3-2 victory in a group-stage match at the Etihad Stadium.

Match overview

Only three days after their narrow victory over Brighton & Hove Albion on penalties in the EFL Cup fourth round, Manchester City had a disappointing showing against the same team last Saturday, suffering a 1-0 defeat at home in the Premier League.

For the third time this season, Enzo Maresca’s side found themselves conceding within the first 15 minutes of a match. Yasin Ayari’s goal proved sufficient to hand the Citizens their second consecutive Premier League loss and to relinquish their place at the top of the table to Arsenal.

City will be eager to regain their winning form in their upcoming league match against Nottingham Forest before the international break in November, but first, they must focus on the Champions League, where they have gathered six points from their first three League Phase matches.

Currently positioned 10th in the 36-team standings, the Sky Blues endured a 4-2 defeat at home to reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain, in between victories against Porto (2-0) and AEK Athens (5-1). They triumphed over the latter with a significantly altered lineup two weeks ago.

Manchester City has managed to win just eight of their last 20 Champions League games (D2 L10). However, they travel to Germany with a record of four wins from their previous six encounters against Leipzig (D1 L1) and have achieved victories in 21 of their 32 UCL games against German teams (D5 L6).

After a season without any European competition, RB Leipzig has returned to the Champions League this year but has only achieved three points from their initial three matches, placing them in 29th in the 36-team League Phase table.

Die Roten Bullen secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven on matchday two, thanks to a late strike from Brajan Gruda, but this win came after heavy losses of 4-1 to both Como and Real Madrid during their away matches.

Since his appointment in June, Martin Demichelis has overseen eight wins and five defeats in his 13 matches with Leipzig across all competitions. His side defeated Schalke 04 2-0 last Saturday, climbing to fourth place in the Bundesliga standings, just three points shy of undefeated Bayern Munich.

Demichelis made a total of 15 appearances in the Champions League for Manchester City between the 2013-14 and 2015-16 seasons, netting once in a 2-1 victory away against Borussia Monchengladbach in September 2015.

The 45-year-old now looks to guide Leipzig to their fourth consecutive victory across all competitions and their first win over Manchester City since a 2-1 success at home during the 2021-22 group stage. However, Die Roten Bullen have suffered defeats in their last five UEFA contests against English sides.

Team News

RB Leipzig will be without Assan Ouedraogo (shoulder) and Marc Guiu (muscle) due to injuries, while former Burnley defender Maxime Esteve is doubtful due to a knock that caused his absence in last weekend’s win over Schalke.

Christopher Nkunku was an unused substitute in the last match and his participation in Wednesday’s game is uncertain; the French forward is among a select group of UCL players who have scored a hat-trick while being on the losing side, having scored three times in a 6-3 loss at Manchester City in the 2021-22 season.

Antonio Nusa, who is leading the team with five goals this season, might feature on the left of the front three alongside Gruda and Romulo Cardoso, while Christoph Baumgartner could potentially start in central midfield, likely replacing Rocco Reitz.

For Manchester City, they only have one injury issue with attacker Antoine Semenyo, who is aiming to return from a knee injury around mid-December.

Rayan Cherki and Phil Foden are strong candidates to return to the squad, with Foden having scored a hat-trick during City’s impressive victory over AEK Athens. Consequently, one of Ayyoub Bouaddi, Enzo Fernandez, or Elliot Anderson may be left out.

Marc Guehi is vying for a starting spot at center-back alongside either Abdukodir Khusanov or Ruben Dias, while Josko Gvardiol, who scored for Leipzig against City in the first leg of their last-16 tie in the 2022-23 Champions League, may be replaced at left-back by Nico O’Reilly.

Erling Haaland holds the record for the most goals scored against Leipzig, with 12 in eight encounters, including five in City’s 7-0 thrashing in the second leg of the last-16 matchup in the 2022-23 season. It would not be surprising to see the prolific Norwegian feature again on Wednesday.

RB Leipzig probable starting XI:

Vandevoordt; Baku, Orban, Lukeba, Raum; Banzouzi, El Aynaoui, Baumgartner; Gruda, Romulo, Nusa

Manchester City probable starting XI:

Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Guehi, O’Reilly; Anderson, Fernandez; Foden, Cherki, Doku; Haaland

The last six encounters between Leipzig and Manchester City have seen a total of 30 goals, averaging five per match, suggesting that an exciting, high-paced game is on the horizon for Wednesday.

While the Citizens have conceded 12 goals in their past six matches, revealing their defensive vulnerabilities, Leipzig may find hope in this trend. However, we anticipate that Maresca’s side will find their form and manage to outscore their German rivals in a thrilling six-goal match.