RB Leipzig vs Man City: Preview, expected line-ups, stats and where to watch

Manchester City head to Germany on Wednesday to take on RB Leipzig in the Champions League. Read our preview here...

RB Leipzig vs Man City: Preview, expected line-ups, stats and where to watch
UEFA Champions League, League Stage – 4
RB Leipzig LEI
4/11/2026 20:00
Manchester City MCI
venue
Leipzig Red Bull Arena
referee
Marco Guida

Where to watch Leipzig vs Man City: TV channel, live online streams

RB Leipzig vs Manchester City kicks off at 20:00 GMT (16:00 ET / 13:00 PT) on Wednesday, November 4 at the Red Bull Arena in Leipzig.

The Champions League match is live on TNT Sports 2 in the UK, with streaming on HBO Max. In the US, it’s on Paramount Plus.

If you live outside the UK or the US, visit UEFA’s Champions League broadcaster list to find out where to watch it in your region.

RB Leipzig vs Man City preview

Enzo Maresca is in the middle of his first rough patch as Manchester City manager. After an historic seven-game winning start to the Premier League season, City have now lost back-to-back league games, and they travel to Germany on Wednesday night to face an RB Leipzig side managed by their former defender Martín Demichelis.

Saturday’s 1-0 home defeat to Brighton was another frustrating afternoon. Yasin Ayari scored inside the opening 15 minutes, the third time this season City have conceded that early, and the visitors held on with goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen in inspired form. City dominated possession, had more shots on target and created more chances, but they couldn’t find a way through, and the result saw them surrender top spot in the Premier League to Arsenal.

It was City’s third defeat in six games in all competitions, following the 2-1 loss at Aston Villa and the 4-2 home defeat to PSG. It also extended their winless run against Brighton to five Premier League matches.

The Champions League has gone a little better. City beat Porto 2-0 and AEK Athens 5-1, and they sit 10th in the league-phase table with six points.

Leipzig are back in the Champions League after a season without European football, but it has been a struggle. Their only win came against PSV Eindhoven, and they have also lost to Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid, leaving them 29th with three points. They haven’t scored more than once in any of their last four Champions League games.

City have dominated this fixture. They have won four of their six previous Champions League meetings with Leipzig, drawing one and losing one.

Full updated Champions League table

UEFA Champions League 2026

World

League Phase

# Team Played Won Drawn Lost GF GA GD Pts Last 3
1 Paris Saint Germain 3 3 0 0 14 5 9 9
W W W
2 Aston Villa 3 3 0 0 12 3 9 9
W W W
3 Liverpool 3 3 0 0 12 7 5 9
W W W
4 Real Madrid 3 3 0 0 10 5 5 9
W W W
5 Real Betis 3 3 0 0 7 4 3 9
W W W
6 VfB Stuttgart 3 2 1 0 7 2 5 7
D W W
7 Arsenal 3 2 1 0 6 2 4 7
D W W
8 Barcelona 3 2 0 1 11 6 5 6
L W W
9 Como 3 2 0 1 10 5 5 6
W L W
10 Manchester City 3 2 0 1 9 5 4 6
W L W
11 Club Brugge KV 3 2 0 1 9 6 3 6
W W L
12 Sporting CP 3 2 0 1 7 4 3 6
L W W
13 Borussia Dortmund 3 2 0 1 5 4 1 6
W L W
14 Bayern München 3 1 2 0 10 5 5 5
D D W
15 AS Roma 3 1 1 1 8 5 3 4
W L D
16 Atletico Madrid 3 1 1 1 4 3 1 4
D W L
17 Shakhtar Donetsk 3 1 1 1 4 3 1 4
L W D
18 PSV Eindhoven 3 1 1 1 2 2 0 4
W L D
19 Villarreal 3 1 0 2 8 8 0 3
L W L
20 Inter 3 1 0 2 5 6 -1 3
W L L
21 Manchester United 3 1 0 2 5 6 -1 3
L L W
22 Napoli 3 1 0 2 5 7 -2 3
W L L
23 Galatasaray 3 1 0 2 6 9 -3 3
W L L
24 Lask Linz 3 1 0 2 6 9 -3 3
W L L
25 Sabah FA 3 1 0 2 3 6 -3 3
L W L
26 Feyenoord 3 1 0 2 4 8 -4 3
L W L
27 Lens 3 1 0 2 3 7 -4 3
L L W
28 Bodo/Glimt 3 1 0 2 4 9 -5 3
L W L
29 AEK Athens FC 3 1 0 2 3 8 -5 3
L L W
30 RB Leipzig 3 1 0 2 3 8 -5 3
L W L
31 Fenerbahçe 3 0 2 1 3 9 -6 2
D L D
32 Slavia Praha 3 0 1 2 4 7 -3 1
D L L
33 Viking 3 0 1 2 5 9 -4 1
L D L
34 FC Porto 3 0 0 3 2 6 -4 0
L L L
35 Lille 3 0 0 3 4 10 -6 0
L L L
36 Slovan Bratislava 3 0 0 3 1 13 -12 0
L L L
  • Position 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24 : Play Offs

RB Leipzig vs Man City team news

City have an almost fully fit squad. Antoine Semenyo remains out with a knee injury, with Maresca saying he will be sidelined for around eight weeks, but everyone else is expected to be available.

Phil Foden, Rayan Cherki and Nico O’Reilly came off the bench against Brighton, and all three are pushing for starts. Elliot Anderson and Ayyoub Bouaddi could form the midfield partnership, with Enzo Fernández also an option.

For Leipzig, Marc Guiu and Assan Ouédraogo are out injured while former Burnley defender Maxime Estève is a major doubt. Brajan Gruda, who is on loan from Brighton, Antonio Nusa and Rômulo are expected to form the attacking trio.

RB Leipzig vs Man City predicted line ups

Leipzig: Maarten Vandevoordt, Ridle Baku, Willi Orban, Castello Lukeba, David Raum, Neil El Aynaoui, Ezekiel Banzuzi, Christoph Baumgartner, Brajan Gruda, Romulo, Antonio Nusa

Manchester City: Gianluigi Donnarumma, Abdukodir Khusanov, Marc Guehi, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, Elliot Anderson, Ayyoub Bouaddi, Phil Foden, Rayan Cherki, Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland

RB Leipzig vs Man City Champions League stats, form

  • These sides have met six times in Europe – all in the Champions League – with City winning four and Leipzig one
  • Leipzig’s only win was 2-1 at home during the 2021/22 group stage, drawing and losing their other two matches against visiting City sides
  • The German club have lost their last five matches against English clubs, with their overall record in such games W4 D1 L9
  • Leipzig’s Christopher Nkunku is one of only five players to score a Champions League hat-trick and finish on the losing side, hitting three in a 6-3 defeat at City durig the 2021/22 group stage
  • RB coach Martín Demichelis made 15 Champions League proper appearances for City between 2013/14 and 2015/16, scoring in a 2-1 win at Borussia Monchengladbach in September 2015
  • City have won their last three games against Leipzig, most recently 3-1 away – Phil Foden and Jeremy Doku on target – and 3-2 at home during the 2023/24 group stage with Erling Haaland and Foden both scoring.
  • Haaland has 12 goals in his eight appearances against Leipzig for Dortmund and Manchester City, including a competition record-equalling five against them in City’s 7-0 win during the 2022/23 round of 16 second leg
  • Josko Gvardiol scored five goals in 88 games for Leipzig between 2020 and 2023 before joining City, including one against City in the 2022/23 round of 16 first leg
  • A 2-0 home defeat to Leverkusen in their most recent fixture against a German club, on Matchday 5 last season, ended City’s nine-game unbeaten run in such games (W6 D3)
  • The Cityzens have never lost an away Champions League match in which they led at half-time (W20 D4) and have prevailed in three of their last four away league phase games (L1), including 2-0 at Porto on Matchday 1

RB Leipzig vs Man City prediction

City ought to be too strong but we fancy Leipzig to give them a good run for their money.

Match Prediction

RB Leipzig
1 – 2
Manchester City