RB Leipzig - Manchester City predictions and free betting tips [04/10/2023]

On Wednesday, 4th October, as part of the 2nd round of the Champions League's group stage, RB Leipzig will host Manchester City on their home turf. Both the "Citizens" and the "Bulls" earned 3 points 2 weeks ago, defeating Red Star Belgrade and Young Boys with the same 3:1 score respectively.

Predicted Line-ups

RB Leipzig: Blaswich; Henrichs, Simakan, Lukeba, Raum; Schlager, Seiwald; Simons, Forsberg; Poulsen, Openda.
Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Akanji, Dias, Gvardiol; Rodri, Kovacic; Foden, Alvarez, Doku; Haaland.

Stadium

The clash will take place in Leipzig at the Red Bull Arena.

RB Leipzig

RB Leipzig had a successful start to the new season, losing only once – in the second Bundesliga round in a match against Bayer Leverkusen (3:2). Additionally, 2 weeks ago on the Champions League group stage, the "Bulls" overcame Swiss side Young Boys (1:3). Hence, prior to the match against Bayern Munich last weekend, Marco Rose's squad had a six-match winning streak in all competitions. Before clashing with the Munich team, the Reds defeated Wehen (2:3) in the German Cup's 1/16 finals, and on Saturday they could well claim three points. Leading by two goals at the halftime thanks to goals from Lois Openda and Castello Lukeba, Leipzig could not hold the advantage in the second half (2:2) – with Harry Kane and Leroy Sane scoring. In the league table, the team occupies 5th place, trailing the leader - Bayer Leverkusen - by 3 points.

Since the start of the year, the hosts have won 12 and drew three out of their last 17 home matches in all tournaments, scoring at least two goals in 11 instances. The German squad will miss Hungarian Willi Orban (injured), Spanish star Olmo (2 goals in 3 Bundesliga matches), and striker Werner. Midfielder Kampl, injured in last Saturday's clash against Bayern, also remains in doubt for this week. On the other hand, Marco Rose can count on his summer recruits - Openda (Lille, 4 goals this season) and Dutchman Xavi Simons (PSG, on loan), who scored 3 goals and provided 4 assists in the Bundesliga. Plus, there are Seshko and Poulsen, ready to strengthen the game from the bench.

Manchester City

After securing a treble last season - the FA Cup, the Premier League and their first-ever Champions League title - Manchester City already suffered two losses this campaign by last weekend. The first one was a penalty shootout loss to Arsenal in the country's Super Cup, and then last week they lost 1:0 to Newcastle in the 1/16 finals of the EFL Cup. Sky Blues, undisputed leaders of the Premier League, were eager to make up for the cup failure in Wolverhampton last weekend, but things turned out differently: Guardiola's charges suffered their third defeat this season (2:1). An own goal by Ruben Dias and a winning goal by Hwang Hee-chan in the second half made Manchester City's fans forget about the spectacularly executed free-kick by Julian Alvarez. Despite this, the team still remains in 1st place in the table of the English championship, ahead of the nearest pursuers by one point.

Playmaker Kevin De Bruyne remains unavailable due to injury. It is expected that the excellent John Stones and Portuguese winger Bernardo Silva (4 goals, 5 assists last season), who rested last weekend, will start in Germany. Erling Haaland is already in form this campaign: he has already scored eight goals in the league, despite failing to upset Red Star in the Champions League's first round. The Norwegian "cyborg" will team up with the Belgian Doku, along with Jack Grealish and the fabulous Rodri. Alvarez (2 goals, 3 assists in the CL), who netted two goals in the first round of the continental championship, may play as an attacking midfielder in a 4-2-3-1 setup. Josko Guardiola can face his former club and replace Nathan Ake on the left wing.

Head-to-Head

The encounter of these two clubs in the Champions League has become customary. Two years ago, they ended up in the same group, and City prevailed (6:3 at home, 2:1 in the return match). In March of this year, the teams met in the round of 1/8, and then the "Citizens", after a 1:1 draw in Germany, demolished their adversary at home - 7:0.

Match Predictions for RB Leipzig v Manchester City

It's clear that these two will vie for first place in the group. RB Leipzig have hit a terrific stride at the start of this season and have yet to lose at home to City. There's a sense that this campaign will be far less successful for the "Citizens": taking into account injuries and transfers, the roster has weakened compared to spring. My prediction – at the least the hosts won't lose.

Prediction on Total

Becoming the top scorer in last year's Champions League (12 goals), Haaland upset the "Bulls" by scoring four goals in the round of 1/8. I'm betting on Haaland's individual total over 0.5.

Corner Predictions

Both teams preach attacking football and will please fans with an open game, so we'll see at least 10 corner kicks.

Yellow Cards Predictions

Neither side is known for rough play on the field, so confidently bet on the total bookings under 4.5.

Score Predictions

I'll bet on a precise score of 2:2.