Manchester City will be looking to bounce back from their draw against Nottingham Forest when they face RB Leipzig in the Champions League on Wednesday evening.
After a huge win over Arsenal last week, City missed the chance to stay top of the Premier League as they were held to a 1-1 draw against Forest, a result that put City two points behind the Gunners. All attention now turns to the Champions League, where City face German side RB Leipzig.
The two sides met in the Champions League group stages last season where City won 6-3 at home and then lost 2-1 in the away clash, with the German side proving a tough opponent to keep quiet. Pep Guardiola has been handed a big blow ahead of Wednesday's clash though, with Kevin De Bruyne and Aymeric Laporte ruled out, joining John Stones on the sidelines.
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So, could City take an advantage back to the Etihad in their Champions League round of 16 clash? Let's take a look.
We simulated RB Leipzig vs Man City to get a score prediction
To complete this simulation, we used FIFA 23 and updated the squads with the latest injuries and suspensions.
We predict that the hosts could set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with their line-up as follows: Blaswich; Simakan, Orban, Gvardiol, Raum; Laimer, Schlager; Szoboszlai, Nkunku, Werner; Silva.
We predict that City could line up in a 4-3-3 formation, with their line-up as follows: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Akanji, Ake; Rodri, Gundogan, Bernardo; Mahrez, Haaland, Grealish.
City started strongly in Germany, with Jack Grealish stinging the 'keeper's gloves twice in the opening five minutes with curling efforts from just inside the box. The pressure continued from Guardiola's side, and they took a deserved lead after 14 minutes through Erling Haaland.
The Norwegian scored six against Leipzig in four games for Borussia Dortmund before moving to City, and the simulation tips the striker to haunt them once again on Wednesday. Rodri drilled a pass out to Grealish on the left who chipped the ball into the feet of Haaland, and after turning past his marker, the striker drilled a great finish across goal for 1-0.
Haaland almost made it 2-0 moments later when he attempted to lob the 'keeper with a cheeky effort from 35 yards, but his shot looped onto the roof of the net. The Norwegian was looking sharp, and just before the break he got another to put City two goals ahead.
Riyad Mahrez sent a cross into the box, but the ball was headed clear by Leipzig and to the feet of Haaland. Outside the box, the 22-year-old opted to volley his strike rather than taking a touch, and his effort rifled over the 'keeper and into the middle of the goal to top off a dominant first half.
The German side looked sharper in the second half, with Christopher Nkunku and Timo Werner both dangerous on the counterattack. City's high line was getting beaten on multiple occasions, and their lead was halved after 58 minutes.
A switch of play saw Dominik Szoboszlai knock the ball forward into the path of Nkunku, and the Frenchman threaded a pass into the box to the feet of Andre Silva. The striker cut across onto his left before powering his shot past Ederson to make it 2-1 and set up a nervy final 30 minutes for City.
All of a sudden, the hosts were creating some big chances, and they looked set to make it 2-2 in the 88th minute when Werner broke through on goal, but a last-man challenge from Ruben Dias brought down the German, resulting in a red card for City's defender. Szoboszlai skimmed the top of the bar from the resulting free-kick as City held on for the win.
FIFA 23 predicted final score: RB Leipzig 1-2 Man City
Here are the full-time match stats.
FIFA 23 predicts that City could head back to England with a one-goal lead, winning 2-1 in the simulation. Haaland enjoyed his return to Germany with a first-half brace against familiar opposition, but the hosts exposed City's high line often in the second half, a threat Guardiola may need to be wary of.
