Manchester City v Leipzig predictions: Citizens should stamp their authority

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Manchester City v Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Where to watch

BT Sport 3, 8pm Wednesday

Best bet

Man City -1 goal on handicap
2pts 10-11 Betfair, PaddyPower

Team news

Man City
Back-up goalkeeper Zack Steffen is out after testing positive for Covid but Pep Guardiola otherwise has a fully fit group. Kevin De Bruyne could return to the starting line-up.

Leipzig
Marcel Halstenberg and Marcelo Saracchi are both sidelined for the Red Bulls.

Match preview

Manchester City came closer than ever to lifting the Champions League trophy last season but defeat to Chelsea in the final means it is back to the drawing board in their pursuit of continental conquest.

And this season they will need to hit the ground running after being drawn in a challenging section featuring Paris Saint-Germain, Club Brugge and Leipzig, who they face first at the Etihad Stadium.

But this week's opponents Leipzig are not the same team who made the semi-finals of the competition as recently as the 2019-20 season when they took down Tottenham and Atletico Madrid in the knockout stage.

Since then a lot has changed.

Over the summer the Red Bulls not only lost pioneering manager Julian Nagelsmann to Bayern Munich but also saw key players Dayot Upamecano and Marcel Sabitzer move to Bavaria.

Ibrahima Konate also departed for Liverpool and despite the shrewd acquisition of prolific scorer Andre Silva from Eintracht Frankfurt, they look a weaker unit under new manager Jesse Marsch.

That is underlined by the fact they have lost three of their opening four Bundesliga fixtures, including a 4-1 thrashing by Bayern at the Red Bull Arena last weekend.

That spoke volumes about their defensive deficiencies and they could be on the end of another comprehensive defeat in Manchester.

Despite their mega-wealth, City have struggled in the latter stages of the Champions League in recent seasons but seldom have issues in the group phase.

They are, in fact, unbeaten in 17 group matches in the competition in a run which stretches back to September 2018.

After an opening-day defeat to Tottenham, Guardiola's side look back to their irrepressible best, having thumped Norwich and Arsenal 5-0 before edging top-four hopefuls Leicester 1-0 away from home.

Their start to the Premier League season has quashed suggestions they could struggle in the absence of a reliable out-and-out striker and their threat in the final third will be enhanced by the potential return of Kevin De Bruyne to the starting line-up for this contest.

The Red Bulls naturally remain one of Germany's brightest lights but will be short of confidence after such a poor start domestically.

And even prior to their mini-exodus of personnel over the summer, Leipzig looked as though they had lost their edge in the Champions League last term when comfortably dispatched by Liverpool in the round of 16.

This should be a comfortable home win and City are worth backing giving up a goal on the handicap, which means they must win by two or more for the bet to click.

Key stat

Manchester City conceded only once in six Champions League group games last season.

Inside info

Manchester City

Penalty taker Ilkay Gundogan / Riyad Mahrez
Free-kick wizard Kevin De Bruyne
Set-piece aerial threat Ruben Dias
Card magnet Fernandinho

Leipzig

Penalty taker Andre Silva
Free-kick wizardDani Olmo
Set-piece aerial threatWilli Orban
Card magnetAmadou Haidara

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