Manchester City will travel to Germany for their Round of 16 clash with RB Leipzig in their quest for their maiden UEFA Champions League title.
Premier League giants Manchester City will hit the road to square up against German side RB Leipzig in the first Leg of the Round of 16. Pep Guardiola’s side will look to start off their Champions League quest with a win in the knockout rounds. On the other hand, Leipzig will look to carry on from where they left off in the group stage.
RB Leipzig lost their first two group-stage matches. And, it seemed difficult for Die Roten Bullen to make it into the knockouts. But they managed to win their remaining four games and qualify by finishing second in Group F.
Their 3-2 win over Real Madrid was a highlight, and they would love to pull off something similar against City. Marco Rose’s men will look for a positive result, having defeated the Citizens 2-1 when they last traveled to the Red Bull Arena in the group stage of last season’s competition.
Manchester City, on the other hand, will look to return to winning ways. They failed to win against Nottingham Forest in their last Premier League encounter. And, Pep Guardiola will be eager to start off their UEFA Champions quest with a win in the 1st leg.
The pressure is on the Manchester City boss who was brought to the club in order to win the European competition but hasn’t managed to deliver yet. However, the positive is that City are competing in the knockout rounds of the competition for the 10th successive year.
Guardiola’s men were clinical in the group stage as they managed to win four and draw two of their six matches and finish top of Group G. City will square up against Leipzig as they look to make it into the quarter-final stage for the sixth consecutive year. It is going to be an intriguing battle between two top teams. And, The Hard Tackle looks at their teams and tactics that they can deploy.
Team News and Tactics
RB Leipzig
RB Leipzig will be without the services of Peter Gulacsi, Dani Olmo, and Abdou Diallo who are all out due to their respective fitness issues.
Meanwhile, the return of Christopher Nkunku and Konrad Laimer will be a big boost for Marco Rose. The duo returned to action last weekend and are expected to play a part against Manchester City. However, Nkunku could not manage to complete the final training session ahead of the Manchester City fixture and it remains to be seen if he will take part in the match.
ℹ️ @c_nk97 only completed parts of the final training session ahead of #RBLMCI after feeling a muscle issue. Staff will observe how things develop over the next 24 hours. pic.twitter.com/sPjI8pWtCj
— RB Leipzig English (@RBLeipzig_EN) February 21, 2023
Marco Rose is expected to start with the 4-2-3-1 formation, with Janis Blaswich starting in goal. Lukas Klostermann and David Raum will start out wide as full-backs. Willi Orban will pair up with star defender Josko Gvardiol in the center of the defense.
Xaver Schlager and Konrad Laimer will play as the pivots in front of the defence and look to help them out in keeping Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne quiet. Dominik Szoboszlai, Emil Forsberg, and Timo Werner will be the three in front of the pivots. They will look to support the frontman, Andre Silva.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Blaswich; Klostermann, Orban, Gvardiol, Raum; Schlager, Laimer; Szoboszlai, Forsberg, Werner; Silva
Manchester City
Pep Guardiola will be without the services of John Stones, who is yet to recover from a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, he has omitted Kevin De Bruyne from the travelling squad. Apart from that the City boss has nothing to worry about.
Our #UCL squad for the RB Leipzig match has been confirmed 📋
Tap to find out more 👇
— Manchester City (@ManCity) February 21, 2023
Manchester City are likely to start with the 3-2-4-1 formation. Something that they have deployed in the last few fixtures. City’s undisputed number one Ederson will once again take charge in goal.
Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias, and Nathan Ake will start as the back three. Bernardo Silva and Rodri will once again start as the pivots in front of the back three. While on the attack, Silva will play as a deep-lying midfielder whereas he will join the defense as a left-back when they look to defend.
Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, Ilkay Gundogan, and Jack Grealish could start as the midfield four behind marksman Erling Haaland. And Foden will often move beyond Haaland to hand Manchester City the initiative in the final third
Probable Lineup (3-2-4-1): Ederson; Walker, Dias, Ake; Rodri, Bernardo; Mahrez, Alvarez, Gundogan, Grealish; Haaland
Key Stats
- 12 goals have been scored in the two matches played between Manchester City and RB Leipzig with both teams winning one game apiece.
- RB Leipzig have squared up against English sides eight times in the Champions League, they have won four times and lost four times.
- In four home matches against English opponents, RB Leipzig have scored eight goals and only conceded five.
- Manchester City have an excellent track record against German opponents in the UEFA Champions League. They have only lost one of their last 17 matches and scored 44 goals in those games.
- Pep Guardiola has the highest win rate in the UEFA Champions League for managers having featured in over 50 matches.
Player to watch out for
Erling Haaland
Erling Haaland will be eager to return to goal-scoring form having failed to find the back of the net in their previous outing. The Manchester City striker has been on fire ever since he joined the English club. He has scored 32 goals in 31 matches.
Haaland loves to play in the UEFA Champions League and will be the one to watch out for. The 22-year-old will be the key for Pep Guardiola’s team as they look to start off the knockout rounds with a win. Meanwhile, his prospective suitors might keep a keen eye on his outing this midweek.
Prediction
RB Leipzig 1-2 Manchester City
Manchester City will be the favorites against RB Leipzig despite their inconsistent form of late. The Premier League giants will leave no stone unturned in search of a win.
While Leipzig have been in decent form, they might struggle against an outfit with world-class players in every position. The substitutions Pep Guardiola makes are likely to have a big say in the end result. The Hard Tackle predicts a hard-fought 2-1 win for the Manchester-based club.
