Manchester City vs Bayer Leverkusen prediction: EUROPE: Champions League – League phase betting tips on match 2025-11-24 20:00.
[p]A landmark day for Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola sees his side welcome Bayer Leverkusen on what is his 100th UEFA Champions League (UCL) game in charge of the club (W62, D19, L18).[/p]
[p]Match News and Current Form[/p]
[p]City’s warm-up for this clash could barely have gone much worse as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at Newcastle, as their quest to regain the Premier League crown faltered once again. They haven’t done much faltering in the UCL, where they sit fourth in the league phase table after four rounds (W3, D1), beating another German side Borussia Dortmund 4-1 here in the last round. City’s home form this season has been firmly in keeping with that result, winning each of their last seven games at the Etihad Stadium, and with Guardiola’s men City unbeaten in 23 home group/league phase games (W20, D3), few would bet against them extending that run here.[/p]
[p]Leverkusen’s weekend went much better than City’s as they won 3-1 away at Wolfsburg, although the three points did little to boost their Bundesliga title hopes as they remain eight points off the pace. They’re well off the pace in the UCL too, winning just one of their first four league phase games (D2, L1), but they’ll hope a 1-0 win away to Benfica on matchday four means they’ve turned a corner. They have tended to fare well in Europe, losing only three of their last 23 European group/league phase games (W12, D5), but just one win from their last six UCL away games (D2, L3) does raise doubts over their credentials here.[/p]
[p]Head-to-Head History[/p]
[p]This will be a first-ever H2H between these sides. City have won each of their last 13 UCL home games against German opposition, while Leverkusen have lost eight of their ten away games against English sides in this competition.[/p]
[p]Hot Stats and Streaks[/p]
[p]City’s last five competitive games featured over 2.5 goals. [/p]
[p]City haven’t trailed at any point in the UCL this season.[/p]
[p]Leverkusen have scored five of their six UCL goals this season after half-time.[/p]
[p]Leverkusen’s four league phase games so far have averaged four goals per match. [/p]
[p]Key Players to Watch and Missing Players[/p]
[p]Manchester City’s Erling Haaland has scored in five successive UCL games, while he also scored a brace in his last two personal H2Hs against Leverkusen. Jonas Hofmann has scored two goals in as many games for Leverkusen, with both arriving inside the opening 20 minutes – his last four club strikes came in games containing at least four goals.[/p]
[p]Rodri once again sat out of Manchester City’s weekend game, while Leverkusen’s Arthur was also given the weekend off as he tries to recover from a back injury.[/p]
[p]For all the latest team news, please check the Flashscore match centre.[/p]
[p]Betting Analysis[/p]
[p]City’s home record against German opposition is so strong that it makes backing them in the -1 handicap market look appealing. [/p]
[p][i]Author: Chris Wilson[/i][/p]