Manchester City go to Leipzig on Wednesday after two league defeats in a row, and they will look to Erling Haaland to turn things around. The Norway striker has scored 12 goals in eight games against RB Leipzig, counting his time at Borussia Dortmund as well as City.
The Champions League game kicks off at 21:00 CET at Leipzig’s home ground.
A bad week for City
City started the Premier League season with seven wins from seven games under Enzo Maresca, who replaced Pep Guardiola. Then it went wrong. They lost 2-1 at Aston Villa, and on Saturday Brighton won 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium with an early goal from Yasin Ayari.
City had plenty of the ball against Brighton but could not find a way past goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen. Maresca was not happy with how the goals were given away. “We are conceding silly goals that we can avoid,” he said after the game.
Europe has been better. City have six points from their first three games in the league phase, with two wins. Leipzig have three points.
Haaland and Leipzig
Haaland has already scored four Champions League goals this season, in just two games. Against Leipzig his numbers are even bigger. The best night came in March 2023, when City won 7-0 in the round of 16 second leg in Manchester. Haaland scored five goals that night, which equalled the record for one player in a single Champions League game.
The two clubs have met six times in this competition, all since 2021. City have won four of those games and Leipzig have won one, a 2-1 home win in the 2021/22 group stage.
A familiar face on the other bench
Leipzig are now coached by Martín Demichelis, who played for City between 2013 and 2016. He knows the club well, and he will want to make life hard for his old team.
City are without Antoine Semenyo, who is injured, but the rest of the squad is fit. Leipzig are missing Maxime Estève, Assan Ouédraogo and Marc Guiu.
Our take
City are still creating chances. Their problem in the last two games has been the finishing at one end and simple mistakes at the other. A trip to Germany might be a good place to reset, because there is less pressure on a Champions League away game than on another home league match.
If Haaland gets the service he did not get against Brighton, his record says he will score. A win would put City on nine points.
Will Haaland add to his 12 goals against Leipzig on Wednesday? Tell us in the comments.
Photos via Wikimedia Commons: Erling Haaland by Bryan Berlin (CC BY-SA 4.0), Red Bull Arena Leipzig by Chabe01 (CC BY-SA 4.0), Martín Demichelis by CFCUnofficial (Chelsea Debs) (CC BY-SA 2.0).
