Manchester City vs RB Leipzig
After coming up short once again and losing in last year’s final, Manchester City are ready to make another run at that coveted Champions League title this year.
Pep Guardiola’s men have made a strong start to their Premier League campaign with three wins in their first four matches, so they should head into their Champions League opener against RB Leipzig with a lot of confidence.
City’s Champions League 2021 betting odds will also be bolstered by the fact that Leipzig are struggling under new coach Jesse Marsch.
Talking Points
City continue complete team effort
Manchester City came as close as they’ve ever come to claiming the Champions League crown last season as they made the final for the first time in their history. However, the Citizens could not quite seal the deal as they lost to Chelsea.
City were also unable to capture Harry Kane, the superstar centre-forward who was seemingly the missing piece to their long quest for European domination, during the summer transfer window. But they did break the British transfer record for Jack Grealish, who has been one of many contributors in their strong start to the season.
City defeated Leicester City 1-0 away over the weekend, their third win on the bounce. The defence, which was so crucial to City’s success last season, continues to impress as they’ve kept three clean sheets in a row. Meanwhile, Bernardo Silva scored the winning goal as he became the ninth different goalscorer this season.
That long list does even not include two of their top attackers in Kevin De Bruyne and Phil Foden, who have been nursing injuries early on. However, both were on the bench against Leicester and could potentially play some part in the Champions League.
Guardiola has preferred to start a front three of Grealish, Ferran Torres, and Gabriel Jesus, which has proven to be quite effective. But Raheem Sterling and/or Riyad Mahrez could be brought in to freshen things up against Leipzig.
Torres and Mahrez were tied as City’s top scorers in the Champions League last season with just four goals, although Torres played in half as many games (6 to 12).
Leipzig suffering from a losing skid
It has been a tough start to life as RB Leipzig boss for Jesse Marsch. The American has lost three of his first four Bundesliga games in charge, which includes a 4-1 beatdown against his predecessor Julian Nagelsmann’s Bayern Munich this past weekend.
The loss of star centre-back Dayot Upamecano has already made a huge impact on Leipzig’s defence, which was the best in the Bundesliga last season. Meanwhile, newcomers Andre Silva and Dominik Szoboszlai have yet to hit top form up front.
On the bright side for the Red Bulls, they finally got some key players back against Bayern. Midfielder Dani Olmo made his first appearance of the season, while Angelino also returned to the lineup after his recent injury. Angelino, a former City player who was sold to Leipzig in the summer, will surely be keen to create some Champions League 2021 highlights against his old club.
Defensive midfielder Tyler Adams missed out on the Bayern match after his busy international break with the United States. But Leipzig will need him back to shield the defence from City’s dangerous midfielders.
Marsch has yet to completely settle on his starting duo in defensive midfield, with Adams, Amadou Haidara, Kevin Kampl, and Konrad Laimer all getting starts early in the season.
History
This will be the first-ever meeting between Manchester City and RB Leipzig. Although, City have much experience facing German opposition in the Champions League. They faced two in the knockout round of last year’s competition: Borussia Monchengladbach and Borussia Dortmund.
City won all four of those matches and have also won 10 of 13 home games against German opposition in the Champions League, with two draws and one defeat.
As for Leipzig, they have also experienced facing Premier League opposition over the last two seasons. They defeated Tottenham Hotspur over two legs in the round of 16 in 2020. And last season, they faced Manchester United in the group stage, with the home side winning both fixtures. However, they lost both legs of their round-of-16 tie against Liverpool.
Betting Tip
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Manchester City vs RB Leipzig | Manchester City Asian Handicap -1.50 @ 1.89 |
| September 16, 03:00 (GMT+8) |
SBOTOP odds have Manchester City installed as huge 1.29 favourites at home, with Leipzig priced as 9.00 underdogs. A draw is at 5.40.
Clearly, City are the form team heading into the match and will look to take care of business at home against a struggling Leipzig side.
That’s what I expect as well, which is why I’m wagering on City on the Asian Handicap market to deliver a convincing and comfortable victory in front of their home support.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR ( ) BETS ARE WORTH: |
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 = €20 (Highly confident) |
= €10 (CONFIDENT) |
= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT) |
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Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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