We had a wild day of Champions League action on Tuesday. Huge matchups, big comebacks, and more than a couple of shock results made for a wild day. We roll on with preliminary action on Wednesday, with one of the big favorites heading on the road in search of points. Man City travel to face RB Leipzig for a match with serious top 24 implications.
Man City are solid -190 favorites at DraftKings Sportsbook for this matchup, with a draw available at +390. If you’re keen on the RB Leipzig upset, they’re priced at +425 to win the match within 90 minutes.
Man City vs. RB Leipzig Prediction, Pick
So far in UCL play, Man City have handled business when they needed to. They dispatched Porto 2-0 in their first preliminary match and hammered AEK Athens in their most recent UCL match. However, they got a chance to square off with the defending champs at home, and came up wanting. At the Etihad, Paris Saint-Germain buried three goals in the first 32 minutes and coasted to a 4-2 win. Now PSG have ridden that victory to a 4-0-0 start, and are firmly in control of a top eight spot; City aren’t as secure.
With five matches remaining in group play, City needs to buckle down. They still have matches with Barcelona, Napoli, Lens, and Sporting CP remaining after this draw with Leipzig. If they don’t tighten up, a top-eight spot could slip away, or worse, they could crash out entirely. And Leipzig sure need the points as well; they won’t be rolling over.
So far, the German side has acquitted themselves well in league play, going 5-0-3 in the Bundesliga. But their Champions League form has not been good. They got pummeled 4-1 in their opening match by Como and barely scraped a 1-0 win over PSV Eindhoven. In their last match, a significant underdog tie against Real Madrid, they suffered another 4-1 stomping. Now on the outside of the knockout rounds and looking in, they need to start picking up points with urgency.
It will be fascinating to see how Leipzig’s center backs fare against this City attack. Willi Orbán and Castello Lukeba have been dynamic in the back line and will have their hands full marking Erling Haaland. But if they can manage to keep a lid on him, the rest of City’s attack will need to step up. For all the money they spend on their wingers, they’re not getting a ton of production. Phil Foden, Antoine Semenyo, Rayan Cherki, and Iliman Ndiaye could all be more productive if City wants to reach the heights they are capable of as a club.
Heading the other way, the man to watch in Leipzig’s attack is Antonio Nusa. The young Norwegian winger (and teammate of Haaland’s during the World Cup) is having an excellent season in the Bundesliga, scoring four goals while adding six assists. He’s an excellent shooter who supplies tons of big chances for his teammates, chiefly forward Christopher Nkunku. If that duo can make some magic happen on the counterattack, Leipzig can put some pressure on City.
I don’t love Leipzig’s chances of an upset here, given how deep and talented City’s attacking group is. But I do think Nusa and his cohorts can make it interesting with a goal to fire up the home fans, even if it comes in a loss.
