RB Leipzig welcome Manchester City to the Red Bull Arena on Wednesday in the UEFA Champions League, and the home side have enough behind them to make this a real test. Leipzig have won nine consecutive Bundesliga home matches, a club record, and scored 18 goals without reply in their four league home wins this season. City arrive having conceded 12 goals across their last six competitive matches.

Leipzig's home control

At home, Leipzig have been hard to unsettle. The four league wins have all come without conceding, and that is the part of the story City have to deal with first. Marcel Schäfer told bundesliga.com after Leipzig's recent home win that, "We couldn't find the gaps initially, but we worked our way into the game, stayed patient and then took our chances ruthlessly." That reads like a fair description of how they have been handling opponents at the Red Bull Arena.

City and Leipzig's attacking edge

Manchester City's recent defensive record gives Leipzig a route into the game, but the bigger reason this feels live is the quality Leipzig can bring in transition. Christopher Nkunku scored a Champions League hat-trick against City in September 2021, while Antonio Nusa has four Bundesliga goals and a joint league-leading six assists this season. Martín Demichelis has described Nusa as "one of the best wingers in Europe right now", and that kind of output gives Leipzig two different ways to hurt a side that has looked looser at the back.

City, for their part, still want to play forward quickly and directly, as Enzo Maresca said. That style can suit them when it lands, but it also leaves space if Leipzig press well and win the ball in useful areas. The meeting between RB Leipzig vs Manchester City has enough evidence on both sides to look closer than the badge names suggest.

On Wednesday, the key number is still Leipzig's home run, and the next one to watch is whether City can keep the game from opening up at the Red Bull Arena.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 1 outlet. How we work →