RB Leipzig vs Manchester City prediction, odds and betting tips
Manchester City will resume their Champions League campaign against RB Leipzig on Wednesday night.
RB Leipzig vs Manchester City odds
Here are the latest match odds for RB Leipzig vs Manchester City from Spreadex.
- RB Leipzig: 15/4
- Draw: 14/5
- Manchester City: 3/4
Best bookies to bet on RB Leipzig vs Manchester City
RB Leipzig vs Manchester City predictions
Could this finally be their year?
At the start of the knockout phase, Manchester City are the favourites to win the Champions League.
They have been here before. For most of Pep Guardiola’s tenure, City have been viewed as the leading contenders to lift the biggest trophy in European football. But time and time again they have fallen short.
In 2019 they were knocked out by Tottenham Hotspur, a team they finished 27 points clear of in the Premier League. A year later they were stunned by Lyon in the quarter-finals.
A first appearance in the final in 2021 brought a 1-0 defeat by Chelsea. Last term, City were the victims of an extraordinary Real Madrid comeback in the semis.
The method of elimination does not stay the same, but City have continually failed to get over the finish line.
It is a shortcoming Guardiola will be desperate to address. Something would be missing if he were to leave the Etihad Stadium one day without having seen his side crowned as kings of the continent.
On the face of it, this last-16 tie might look like a relatively straightforward assignment. But while it would be a surprise if City did not triumph on aggregate, the first leg in Germany could be trickier than some anticipate.
RB Leipzig vs Manchester City betting tips
Manchester City are understandably the favourites to win the Champions League, but this fixture looks like a potential banana skin.
RB Leipzig or draw – 21/20 (Spreadex)
RB Leipzig are fifth in the Bundesliga but that does not tell the full story.
For starters, they are only four points adrift of Bayern Munich in top spot. With Julian Nagelsmann’s side wobbling, Leipzig are very much in the title race.
Secondly, they would be even higher had the season begun when Marco Rose replaced Domenico Tedesco in the dugout at the Red Bull Arena.
Since that day in September, no team in Germany’s top flight has accumulated more points than Leipzig.
Their form in Europe similarly picked up immediately after Rose’s arrival.
The former Borussia Dortmund boss lost his first Champions League group game to Real Madrid, but then oversaw four consecutive victories – including when the Blancos visited Germany on matchday five.
Leipzig are especially strong in front of their own fans. Eleven of their 15 home games this season have ended in victory, and only two in defeat.
Needless to say, Manchester City are good enough to buck that trend. But Guardiola’s side have not been firing on all cylinders of late.
They really ought to have beaten Nottingham Forest at the weekend on the balance of chances created.
Yet for the fourth time in their last five away games, City failed to win. That run may well be extended to five in six on Wednesday.
Over 2.5 goals – 4/6 (Spreadex)
We saw last week how tight the first legs of Champions League last-16 ties tend to be. Three of the four games featured exactly one goal. The exception, Benfica’s 2-0 victory over Club Brugge, was not exactly high-scoring either.
This continued a trend from last term, when six of the eight first legs at his stage of the competition featured under 2.5 goals.
On this occasion, though, it would be astute to back at least three goals in total.
Leipzig will have less of the ball against Manchester City than they do in most Bundesliga encounters, but theirs is a team built to do damage in transition.
Rose will be perfectly happy for his side to cede possession before breaking forward at speed when the ball changes hands.
Christopher Nkunku is fit again and should play a role on Wednesday, either from the bench or as a starter. Andre Silva, Timo Werner and Emil Forsberg will also provide a goal threat for Leipzig, who are averaging an impressive 2.38 goals under their current boss.
City’s attacking quality is well established. Even though their form has been patchy of late, they have scored three or more goals in four of their last six Premier League matches.
Erling Haaland scored six times against Leipzig in his Dortmund days, and he and his City team-mates will cause the home team plenty of problems.
RB Leipzig last team to score – 13/8 (Spreadex)
Even though they are away from home, there is no question of City doing anything other than playing on the front foot in this match.
They will look to take the game to Leipzig in a bid to establish a first-leg lead ahead of the return fixture in the middle of next month.
City have scored the first goal in five of their last six domestic outings.
It is easy to conceive of a situation where City notch the opener, but they are unlikely to go the full 90 minutes without having to withstand some heavy Leipzig pressure.
The German team have a remarkable record in the final 15 minutes of matches.
They have scored an astonishing 13 Bundesliga goals in that period, more than any other quarter-of-an-hour timeslot. Meanwhile, their own backline has been breached just once from the 76th minute onwards.
How to watch RB Leipzig vs Manchester City
- Location: Red Bull Arena, Leipzig, Germany.
- Date and time: Wednesday 22 February 2023, 8pm.
- How to watch: BT Sport 1.
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