For our RB Leipzig vs. Man City prediction, we're going for a 2-1 win for the away side.
Manchester City's quest for an elusive Champions League title continues as they travel to Germany to face Bundesliga side RB Leipzig in the round of 16 this week.
RB Leipzig reached the Champions League last 16 by finishing second in Group F, a group containing Real Madrid, Shakhtar Donetsk and Celtic.
After losing their first two games, 1-4 vs. Shakhtar and 2-0 vs. Real Madrid, the Bundesliga side won four games on the trot to secure qualification by a comfortable margin.
After a tough start to the season, Leipzig have improved notably in recent months as they find themselves 5th in the Bundesliga table, just five points off Bayern Munich at the top.
They enter this game amidst a strong run of form with Marco Rose's side winning three, drawing one and losing one of their last five matches in all competitions. The 1-2 defeat to Union Berlin was Leipzig's only defeat in their last twenty competitive fixtures (W15 D4 L1) in what has been an impressive run.
Leipzig responded to that defeat quite admirably in their most recent game, too, having cruised to a comfortable 3-0 win away at Wolfsburg last time out.
Their home record has been excellent of late, with the German side winning ten of their last twelve games on their own patch so they'll be confident they can give Pep Guardiola's side a run for their money here.
Hungarian midfielder Dominik Szoboszlai, 22, has been in great form recently having notched three goals in his last five matches for Leipzig, and the Bundesliga club will be hoping he's starting to fulfil his immense potential after a slow first season in Germany after his much anticipated arrival from RB Salzburg in 2021.
Leipzig have drawn the short straw somewhat having drawn the Premier League champions but they're in great shape themselves so they'll be optimistic of pulling what would be an enormous shock here.
Manchester City reached the Champions League last 16 by topping Group G having triumphed over Borussia Dortmund, Sevilla and FC Kobenhavn.
The Blues have had an up and down season as they're still searching for their best form having underwhelmed for much of this campaign.
There are signs that things are improving, however, and they enter this game in decent form having won three, drawn one and lost one of their last five matches in all competitions with a few of their most recent performances indicating some much-needed progression.
City produced a performance much closer to their vintage selves in a 3-1 win at home to Aston Villa before claiming their biggest win of the season by the same scoreline at the Emirates against Arsenal just days later.
Most recently, though, City failed to capitalise in the win over their title rivals as they drew 1-1 away at Nottingham Forest. While the result was mightily disappointing, the performance was impressive and was far more reminiscent of what Pep Guardiola's side have regularly produced for the last few seasons with City simply letting themselves down with poor finishing. Guardiola must now ensure his side can come away from that game recognising the positives and use it as a springboard to further improvement rather than allowing it to disrupt their momentum.
City's away record is fairly concerning heading into this game having lost three of their last five games on the road in all competitions, but having won at the Emirates recently any fears of vulnerability will have been eased.
City were beaten 2-1 by Leipzig when the two sides met in this competition back in 2021 and they face a sneakily tough tie here against a side in their pomp. The Premier League side are the clear favourites and cannot be excused for losing this, but this leg in particular could be a close one.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of our previews, tips and offers for this weekend’s action.