Leipzig-Manchester City is a match valid for the first leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League and is played on Wednesday at 21:00: tv, formations, predictions.
In the Champions League, Manchester City start as usual among the main favourites for the final victory, which has eluded them several times in recent seasons. In 2021 the Citizens lost the all-English final to Tuchel’s Chelsea, while last year they had to surrender in the semi-finals to Real Madrid – then future champions – who won in the photo-finish after two memorable matches, to say the least.
The cup with the big ears remains a magnificent obsession for Pep Guardiola’s team, eager to seal the magnificent cycle at the helm of the English club with the most coveted trophy. De Bruyne and his teammates had no trouble getting through the round last autumn, finishing first ahead of Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla and Copenhagen. It was a walk in the park if you consider that qualification came early: City had already sealed their place in October, scoring 14 points in six matches. In the round of 16 the Catalan coach will find Leipzig, a team he had already faced in the last edition during the group stage. The urns in Nyon were therefore benevolent, considering that there were greater dangers than the German formation, which should not be underestimated because it has grown a lot in recent months and has numerous individualities. Manchester City will have to keep their eyes open. Especially in light of the frequent missteps in the Premier League that risk jeopardising their title plans, their third in a row.
Manchester City are not continuous
The possibility of a penalty due to an alleged breach of financial fair play is not the only bad news that has plagued the Citizens in recent weeks. The reigning English champions’ performance has been incredibly erratic. And last Saturday they dropped two vital points, being caught up in the final stages by newly-promoted Nottingham Forest.
Szoboszlai
An unexpected draw, which undid all the good things Guardiola’s men had done a few days earlier in their direct clash with Arsenal, who were beaten 3-1 at the Emirates Stadium. Manchester City, thanks to that success, had reached the top of the table with the Gunners and now find themselves -2, with a game more than the Londoners. The former Barcelona and Bayern Munich coach, before plunging back into the championship, is looking for redemption in the international arena. And he is strong in the fact that his team has only lost one of the last seventeen challenges against German sides. It was Leipzig in last year’s edition that took the chance to beat a European football powerhouse like the Citizens. The Roten Bullen hope to repeat that feat, although in the knockout phase it will be much more complicated. Since Marco Rose came on the bench, however, they are a different team and today, after a string of positive results, they are again fighting for a place in the Champions League.
Fifth on 39 points, the Germans have just overwhelmed Wolfsburg 3-0, returning to winning ways after the draw in Cologne and the defeat in the direct clash with Union Berlin. In the cup, however, they finished as runners-up behind Real Madrid despite starting the adventure with two defeats.
Lipsia-Manchester City: latest line-up news
The absences of Diallo, Gulacsi and Dani Olmo are certainly important for Leipzig, but Rose should be able to count – at least for one half of the game – on his top scorer, French striker Nkunku, who is returning from a lengthy injury. Having come off the bench last Saturday, the transalpine striker is likely to come on in the second half. No problem for the returning Laimer, who is ready to team up with Schlager in the midfield, while Szoboszlai and Forsberg will support Werner and André Silva in the back three.
Guardiola will be without Stones, out with a hamstring injury. However, the Catalan coach has plenty of choice, with Mahrez, Haaland and Grealish in attack. In the middle there will be space for Gundogan and Rodri. The Bernardo Silva left-back experiment should not be repeated: Aké will play in that area, completing the defence along with Lewis, Dias and Laporte. De Bruyne out in midfield.
The Prediction
The two matches last year gave plenty of goals and it should be the same this time. Manchester City does not shine for continuity, but in the decisive matches they hardly make mistakes, as they proved recently against Arsenal. A victory for Guardiola’s team is very likely, but Leipzig should also be able to score in a match that could turn out to be more complicated than expected.
Leipzig-Manchester City’s likely line-up
- LIPSIA (4-2-2): Blaswich; Simakan, Orbán, Gvardiol, Halstenberg; Laimer, Schlager; Szoboszlai, Forsberg; André Silva, Werner.
- MANCHESTER CITY (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Rúben Dias, Laporte, Aké; Rodri, Gündoğan, Bernardo Silva; Mahrez, Haaland, Grealish.
POSSIBLE RESULT: 1-2
