RB Leipzig vs Manchester City prediction: EUROPE: Champions League – Group Stage betting tips on match 2023-10-03 19:00.
Revenge could well be at the forefront of RB Leipzig minds, as they welcome Manchester City to the RB Arena, the same opposition that dumped them out of last season’s UEFA Champions League (UCL) courtesy of a 7-0 drubbing. Marco Rose’s reinvented side have shown themselves to be a serious force this season however, unbeaten in their last seven matches (W6, D1), a run that includes a 2-2 draw with Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga on Saturday.
The Red Bulls have a seriously impressive record under Rose (W35, D6, L9), so they’ll certainly be confident he can turn around a poor record against English opposition across their last six games (W1, D1, L4). Despite that recent record, Leipzig are yet to lose to a Premier League side in their own stadium (W3, D1), but a meeting with City certainly challenges that despite two previous unbeaten H2Hs here (W1, D1), as Pep Guardiola’s side have netted 15 times in their four meetings at any venue.
Guardiola has plenty of problems on his plate at present, with his stretched squad suffering back-to-back defeats to Newcastle and Wolves. Their trip to Leipzig, a third away assignment in a week, could see City fall to a third successive loss for the first time since April 2018, and the travelling supporters will certainly be wary of that fate given they’ve seen their side draw five UCL away games, with each of the last three ending 1-1.
On the plus side, Man City are notoriously strong against German opposition, as since losing to Bayern in 2014, they’ve lost just one of 21 such matches (W16, D4). En route to UCL glory last season, Guardiola’s men saw off each of the Bundesliga’s top-three finishers in Bayern, Borussia Dortmund and Leipzig, so there’ll likely be no trepidation among his charges. Further confidence can also be found in their dominance of the UCL group stages in recent years, winning their group in six consecutive campaigns, losing just two of their last 30 games at this stage (W22, D6).
Players to watch: Leipzig hitman Loïs Openda has certainly impressed since making the switch from Lens, scoring and assisting in their 2-2 draw with Bayern last time out. The Belgian has scored four times this term, one fewer than Erling Haaland managed in less than an hour in City’s crushing 7-0 win in March!
Hot stat: In four previous H2H meetings, 21 goals have been scored at an average of 5.25 per game!