Man City v Leverkusen: Line-ups, stats and preview

Manchester City v Bayer Leverkusen preview

After Erling Haaland’s run of four goals in three club matches ended on Saturday, the Manchester City striker is aiming to score in six successive appearances in the Champions League proper for the second time in his career when Bayer Leverkusen visit the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.

City lost 2-1 at Newcastle to end the weekend seven points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal, but victory over Die Werkself would send them top of the Champions League table until at least Wednesday.

“They’re third in the Bundesliga and it’s a massively important game in terms of finishing in the first eight,” City manager Pep Guardiola said, discussing his side’s ambitions of automatically reaching the last 16.

The Cityzens are a point clear of the knockout phase play-off places and seven above the elimination positions with four matches of the league phase remaining, while Leverkusen are looking to build on a two-point cushion above the elimination spots, sitting four points from the top eight.

Kasper Hjulmand’s side followed up a 1-0 win at Benfica and 6-0 home league thrashing of Heidenheim with a 3-1 victory at Wolfsburg on Saturday, leaving them two points behind second-placed Leipzig in Germany and eight shy of leaders Bayern Munich.

“We’ll take the game in our stride,” said Leverkusen managing director Simon Rolfes (via Kicker), adding that a win against City or Newcastle, who visit the BayArena on Matchday 5 on December 10, “would be important”.

“Then we’d be in a good position going into the new year. But there’s no point in speculating too much.

“The important thing is that we keep improving. That’s the crucial thing this season: that we keep improving and diligently collect points.”

Manchester City v Leverkusen team news

Defensive midfielders Ezequiel Fernandez (knee ligament) and Exequiel Palacios (thigh and tendon surgery) and right wing-back Lucas Vazquez (back) are long-term absentees for Leverkusen.

Forwards Martin Terrier and Jonas Hofmann are not registered for the Champions League and centre-back Edmond Tapsoba and midfielder Robert Andrich are banned.

👀 Have a look at our first three shots on goal against Wolfsburg! 🎯 pic.twitter.com/kMnJnrEQgf

— Bayer 04 Leverkusen (@bayer04_en) November 24, 2025

Defender Axel Tape (thigh and tendon), right wing-back Arthur (back) and reserve goalkeeper Janis Blaswich (muscular) are also out, while right-back Nathan Tella is unlikely to be ready to start, having returned from injury as a substitute against Wolfsburg.

“Our squad will be a bit smaller,” accepted Rolfes, who is hopeful Leverkusen will be able to pose a threat despite their depleted personnel. “It will be a tough task, no question.”

Guardiola said City will “wait a little longer” on Rodri’s return to full fitness, while fellow midfielder Mateo Kovacic is also out.

Midfielder Bernardo Silva and winger Savinho must avoid bookings or incur suspensions for the trip to Real Madrid on December 10.

Man City v Bayer Leverkusen predicted line-ups

Manchester City starting XI: Gianluigi Donnarumma, Matheus Nunes, John Stones, Josko Gvardiol, Rayan Ait-Nouri, Nico Gonzalez, Rayan Cherki, Tijjani Reijnders, Phil Foden, Jeremy Doku, Erling Haaland

Bayer Leverkusen starting XI: Mark Flekken, Jarell Quansah, Loic Bade, Jeanuel Belocian, Arthur, Ibrahim Maza, Aleix Garcia, Alejandro Grimaldo, Malik Tillman, Patrik Schick, Ernest Poku

How to watch Man City v Leverkusen: Live online stream, TV channel

Kick-off on Tuesday is at 20:00 GMT (15:00 ET / 12:00 PT), with live coverage in the UK on TNT Sports 1 and TNT Sports Ultimate.

TNT Sports costs £29.99 a month through discovery+, which includes Eurosport and entertainment and is available on a vast range of devices including smart TVs and gaming consoles.

Manchester City v Bayer Leverkusen stats

• These teams have never met before, although City have won 19 and lost one of their last 24 meetings with German teams, while Leverkusen lost eight and won one of their previous 12 away against English clubs
• The English side are unbeaten in their last 23 group stage and league phase home matches, winning 20 of those
• City need three goals to reach 300 in the Champions League proper
• Haaland has 10 goals in his last nine encounters with German sides and previously scored in six straight games in the competition proper for Borussia Dortmund between October 10 2020 and March 9 2021
• Guardiola will take charge of his 100th game in the competition as City manager
• Leverkusen have lost three of their last 20 European group stage and league phase matches, winning 12 of those
• They are seeking their 50th win in the competition
• Midfielder Claudio Echeverri has played in all of Leverkusen’s Champions League games since joining on a season-long loan from City in August and is targeting his first goal for them in the competition
• Four of Leverkusen’s five points in this season’s league phase have come away from home, including equalisers in the 82nd and 91st minutes to draw 2-2 at Copenhagen on Matchday 1
• None of Leverkusen’s last 27 European matches have finished 0-0

Manchester City v Leverkusen prediction

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