Big match in the Champions League, Spain giants will be looking to unseat England confused and battling team after beating them in Dubai.
Man City advanced through the pool stages of the 2022–23 UEFA Champions League without suffering a single loss.
However, they enter the first leg of their Round of 16 match against RB Leipzig having suffered a setback in the form of a 1-1 draw on the road against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.
A couple of key players for Pep Guardiola’s team, including center-backs Aymeric Laporte and John Stones and club legend Kevin De Bruyne, did not make the trip to Germany with the remainder of the team due to medical concerns from this match.
Despite all this, it is not always simple to forecast the starting line-up for Manchester City when Pep Guardiola is in charge, mostly because he has such a wide variety of players to choose from.
Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake are the most probable candidates to start at center-back now that both Laporte and Stones are out with injuries; nevertheless, Manuel Akanji is another possibility in this position.
After Joao Cancelo’s transfer, many people have looked at Ake as a viable opportunity to remain on the left side.
Nevertheless, if Ake is forced to swap positions, Rico Lewis, who is just 18 years old, provides a dependable and maybe more offensive alternative in that spot.
Rodri is the bulldog of Manchester City’s midfield, as he has been almost a constant for them over the campaign.
Bernardo Silva, who scored for City over the weekend, will look to play a major role again for City tonight after hitting the back of the net over the weekend.
Even though Ilkay Gundogan began that game as well, Pep Guardiola could decide to start someone else who is more of an offensive threat this time around, particularly if he decides to line up his team in a 4-3-3 system.
Gundogan’s prospects of making his fourth straight start across all tournaments should see a big boost as a result of the injury suffered by De Bruyne.
Riyad Mahrez has established himself as a reliable starter for Manchester City during the playoff round of the UEFA Champions League in past campaigns, and he currently has an amazing scoring record at this level of the tournament.
Erling Haaland, a star striker, will undoubtedly be the one to lead the line, but World Cup champion Julian Alvarez, who tallied two goals and two assists during the group stage, is available as a backup plan in case it becomes necessary.
Even though Jack Grealish began for City over the weekend, his position may very well be supplanted by fellow England international Phil Foden.
This is particularly possible given that Foden has already shown an ability to connect with Haaland productively.
