RB Leipzig vs Manchester City

Red Bull Arena is the venue as RB Leipzig and Manchester City lock horns in their final UEFA Champions League Group A engagement.

Despite guiding Leipzig to their most convincing Champions League win ever, courtesy of a 5-0 thrashing of Club Brugge on Matchday 5, the now ex-manager Jesse Marsch was relieved of his duties in the build-up to this clash. Back-to-back Bundesliga defeats put the final nail in Marsch’s coffin, throwing Leipzig’s hopes of making something out of this match-up into doubt. Sat third in Group A going into the final round of Champions League group stage fixtures, level on points with bottom-placed Club Brugge, ‘Die Roten Bullen’ may end up missing out on European springtime if results don’t go their way. Emphasizing the challenge ahead of them, Leipzig suffered a humiliating 6-3 defeat in the reverse fixture at the Etihad in September, extending their losing European streak against English opponents to three games.

On the other hand, a come-from-behind 2-1 win over PSG last time out ensured Manchester City’s top-place Group A finish, though they’ve refused to rest on their laurels. The ‘Citizens’ have since won three consecutive Premier League matches despite conceding on each occasion, including a 3-1 victory at Watford over the weekend. Man City will be confident of keeping their eye-catching seven-game winning run in all competitions going here. They’ve not lost any of their last 14 encounters against German sides in the Champions League (W13, D1), winning the last nine in a row by an aggregate score of 28-9. A trip to Germany is likely to invoke some pleasant memories, with Pep Guardiola’s men going unbeaten in their last six Champions League visits to the country (W5, D1).