Man City vs Bayer Leverkusen preview, prediction, team news, and head-to-head

Man City will be quick to shake off their awful performance on Saturday and focus on improving their position in the UCL table. Leverkusen will hope to continue their recently found new run of form when they travel to England.

The city's journey in the Champions League has been incredible this season, as they have remained unbeaten so far (3W, 1D). Despite their 2-1 defeat to Newcastle at the weekend, Pep's men will come into this fixture with the hope of continuing their winning streak in the group phase of the UCL. 

The Cityzens coach has said the lack of utilizing all their chances cost them the match against the Magpies, and his side will ensure to avoid wasting opportunities when the Germans come visiting.  In addition, this match will mark the Spaniard's 100th Champions League game in charge of the English club.

Recent results make Bayer Leverkusen come into this fixture in high spirits. The Black and Reds outclassed Wolfsburg by defeating them 3-1 on Saturday. They only needed the first half to score all three goals, and the job was done. 

Despite sitting 2nd on the German Bundesliga table, Leverkusen's performance on the global stage is far from decent. They are 21st on the UCL table with only 5 points (1W, 2D). 

Only a win away from home can give them a glimpse of hope as they are very close to dropping off from the playoffs qualification zone.

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This will be the first time that both teams have met in history. However, we expect a thrilling game between two sides with great attackers who can threaten their opponents' defences.

The interesting fact is that City has had the upper hand when playing against German teams, while Bayer 04 has had a difficult time playing against opponents from England.

The City boss will continue his Champions League campaign without key players like Rodri and Mateo Kovacic, who have been sidelined for a while now. However, the manager has expressed optimism that the former Ballon d'Or winner will be back in the squad very soon.

Norwegian super striker, Erling Haaland, who has scored in every one of the UCL matches for City this season, will lead the attack. He will be assisted by Jeremy Doku, Phil Foden, and Rayan Cherki up front.

Bayer Leverkusen's manager, Kasper Hjulmand, has confirmed that both Ezequiel Fernandez and Exequiel Palacios will not travel to Etihad due to injuries.

The coach will likely stick to the same players and formation he used against Wolfsburg, with the exception of Arthur, who will be rested due to a slight discomfort he had in the last league match.

Man City (4-2-3-1): Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O’Reilly; Gonzalez, Bernardo; Foden, Cherki, Doku; Haaland

Bayer Leverkusen (3-4-2-1): Flekken; Quansah, Bade, Tapsoba; Grilmaldo, Garcia, Belocian, Maza; Hofmann, Poku; Schick

Manchester City are clear favourites coming into this fixture, despite losing their match at the weekend and their opponents winning theirs. Odds on top bookmakers, including LiveScore Bet, indicate that the home team will enjoy a comfortable victory.

We will likely see a lot of goals in this match, considering that games involving these two teams usually produce over 2.5 goals. The last 5 City matches produced over 2.5 goals, while 4 out of the last 5 matches of the German side also produced over 2.5 goals.

Prediction: Man City 3-1 Bayer Leverkusen

Bet on Man City to win 

Over 2.5 goals

Erling Haaland to score.