Matchday 2 of Champions League group play continues on Wednesday, with RB Leipzig and Manchester City meeting in Group G in a rematch of last year’s UCL Round of 16 showdown, which City won 8-1 on aggregate thanks to a 7-0 blowout in Leg 2 in mid-March.
In Gaming Today’s breakdown of RB Leipzig vs. Manchester City predictions, odds, and props, we cover what to expect between City, which is coming off its first stumble of the season in the Premier League, and RB Leipzig, which drew Bundesliga favorite Bayern Munich 2-2 on Saturday.
Betting Odds for Wednesday’s RB Leipzig vs. Manchester City Match
Here are RB Leipzig vs. Manchester City betting lines available on top sports betting apps. The odds here reflect the three-way moneyline, where a bet on either team to win is a loss if the game is tied after 90 minutes. Leipzig is a big underdog at against Erling Haaland and City (). The draw is currently set at .
RB Leipzig Roster, Injuries, and Betting News
RB Leipzig have become a fixture in the Champions League in recent seasons, and along with Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund, they’re perennially one of the top teams in the Bundesliga. Thanks to the Red Bull pipeline, Leipzig always have access to top young talent and seemingly every year, they lose multiple rising stars only to quickly replace them. The latest players to leave this club for top EPL clubs were Christopher Nkunku (Chelsea) and Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool) over the summer, but Leipzig have nevertheless had no trouble scoring goals so far this season (only two teams have scored more than RBL’s 16 through their first six games).
The attack has been led by young stars Lois Openda (23 years old), Xavi Simons (20), and Benjamin Sesko (20), with Timo Werner, Emil Forsberg, and Dani Olmo giving Manager Marco Rose some valuable veterans in addition to his emerging stars up top. Simons (three goals and four assists in six Bundesliga games) gets a massive opportunity to showcase his skills on Wednesday against City’s outstanding midfield.
Leipzig are longshots behind City to win Group G , but they’re considered a lock to advance to knockout play with a top-2 finish in the group.
Leipzig beat Young Boys 3-1 in their ’23-24 Champions League opener a few weeks ago.
Injuries
Olmo, Werner, and starting right back Benjamin Henrichs have all battled injury issues in the last few weeks, and each player’s status for Wednesday is unclear.
Manchester City Roster, Injuries, and Betting News
City have the best, and deepest, roster in Europe — that much is far from breaking news at this point. But they enter Wednesday’s match with some issues. For one thing, they were upset over the weekend in the EPL by Wolverhampton, which got just its second win of the season against the ’22-23 champs. City remain the clear favorites in the Premier League, but with Kevin de Bruyne out several more weeks, Wolves just showed that this version of City can be beaten.
Coming off a loss, and with a crucial game at Arsenal ahead on Sunday, Pep Guardiola’s team is in the midst of a pivotal week on multiple fronts. The loss to Wolves came in a rare game in which City were held to less than 1 expected goals (they were held to .9 xG), as a front three of Jeremy Doku, Haaland, and Phil Foden managed to pile up eight shots on target (out of 23 total) but created few quality scoring chances. City lost despite a possession advantage of nearly 70-30, and they’ll likely be able to control possession again on Wednesday (Leipzig had just 35% possession against Bayern over the weekend).
It’s hard to imagine City’s offensive issues continuing (they were also shut out by Newcastle in the EFL Cup last week). Still, Leipzig have a much better chance of containing City than anyone who watched them lose to this team 7-0 in leg 2 of last year’s UCL round of 16 might imagine. Haaland alone scored five times in that one, which makes Leipzig’s approach to defending him easily the most intriguing story in the Champions League this week.
City are to win Group G, and their odds to finish second are even longer at .
Injuries
City are missing not only de Bruyne but also key center back/midfielder John Stones, who has been sidelined by a hip injury since August.
RB Leipzig vs. Manchester City Props
Below is a sampling of betting props for RB Leipzig vs. Manchester City:
Anytime Goalscorer (FanDuel):
- Erling Haaland: -110
- Julian Alvarez: +190
- Lois Openda: +210
- Phil Foden: +280
- Benjamin Sesko: +300
- Timo Werner: +320
Correct Score (FanDuel):
- RB Leipzig 1-0: 1500
- RB Leipzig 2-0: +2600
- RB Leipzig 2-1: +1200
- Manchester City 1-0: +800
- Manchester City 2-0: +900
- Manchester City 2-1: +700
- 0-0: +1400
- 1-1: +650
Total Goal Props (FanDuel):
- Over 0.5 goals -2500, Under 0.5 goals: +1420
- Over 1.5 goals -500, Under 1.5 goals: +370
- Over 2.5 goals -148, Under 2.5 goals: +122
- Over 3.5 goals +174, Under 3.5 goals: -215
RB Leizpig vs. Manchester City Prediction: RB Leipzig 1, Manchester City 2
As crazy as it is given what happened the last time these teams met, it’s not hard to see Leipzig keeping Wednesday’s match close. With the Arsenal match looming and Guardiola knowing as well as anyone that the stakes are as low as they can be in a Champions League match, could he rotate his squad to maximize the chances he’ll have his best XI this weekend? Who knows, but that shouldn’t be ruled out. If Leipzig were at full strength, they’d be a tempting play, at least on the double chance market, but they’ll miss Werner, Olmo, and Henrichs. Even a sub-100% version of City should have enough for a win, but expect a close match — much more like the Round of 16 leg 1 draw between these teams last year than the leg 2 romp by City.
Here are a few bets available at DraftKings that are worth checking out, including a conservative flier on the home side getting an upset draw or win:
- Double Chance — RB Leipzig or Tie (+105)
- Parlay: Man City Win, Both Teams To Score (+200)
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