Defending English Premier League champion Manchester City would look to go back to winning ways in their next game after they drew Nottingham Forest away last time around, thanks to an 84-minute equaliser by Chris Wood. Pep Guardiola’s men missed a chance to close the gap on league leader Arsenal, but will now turn to put their league disappointment behind when they head to Germany for a Round of 16 clash with German Bundesliga 1 side RB Leipzig.
City Undefeated in the Champions League
Citizens qualified for the knockout round of the competition as the winner of Group G, having won four of their six matches and drawing the other two. What is more impressive is that the team only conceded two goals in more than 540 minutes plus added time played so far in this season’s campaign, and these statistics will come handy when City starts their knockout stage matches in Germany, with hopes of landing the club’s first ever European club football glory.
City’s success in recent years is largely due to the takeover of Pep Guardiola as the manager, and the Spaniard had managed his Manchester City side to a second-place finish in the 2020/2021 UEFA Champions League. The 52-year-old gaffer from Santpedor, Catalonia, Spain enjoys the highest winning percentage among all managers who had managed over half a decade of matches in the Champions League, registering 97 wins in 154 games managed in the competition.
RB Leipzig, on the other hand, did a fantastic job in the group stage as well. The team bounced back from two losses in as many match days, before winning the next four games, including a famous win against 14-time European winner Real Madrid. Furthermore, the team from Bundesliga 1 had only lost once in 21 games in all competitions, meaning that City will have to great through its tough defensive lineup to make it into the quarterfinal.
Gvardiol, Haaland and Werner Men to Watch
These players will be getting the headline the next day for sure, as the former starred in the recent 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar and had been rumoured to join a Premier League club for months now; An impressive outing against the current Premier League second-placed City will show that he has what it takes to play in the physical English football league. As for Haaland, he will be looking forward to increase his 32-goal tally when he faces his ex club Red Bull Salzburg’s sister club in Germany. Another player that would get his boots ready for the match is none other than German striker Timo Werner; The 26-year-old forward had an upsetting spell with City’s fellow Premier League team Chelsea before returning to RB Leipzig.
Serdar Gözübüyük will take charge of RB Leipzig vs #ManCity in the #UCL on Wednesday night – the same referee that officiated @ManCity’s 6-3 win over RB Leipzig last season.
Complete list of match officials:https://t.co/agp1ofg5iV
— City Xtra (@City_Xtra) February 20, 2023
Third Meeting Between Both Sides
The previous two meetings between the two came in last season’s UEFA Champions League group stage, with City winning the home fixture with a 6-3 score line and Leipzig emerged victorious in the return leg with a 2-1 victory. Their third meeting will be played at Red Bull Arena Leipzig for the first leg of this Round of 16 cup tie, with the second leg coming three weeks after the match at the Etihad Stadium.
Which team do you think is going to win this time? Do you think Pep’s Manchester City finally has what it takes to get its hand on the UEFA Champions League trophy? We would love to hear about your thoughts down in the comment section.
