Man City Manchester City

Leipzig RB Leipzig

Men's Team

Monday marker: Your guide to City's week ahead

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Kevin De Bruyne starts for Manchester City in our Champions League group stage opener against RB Leipzig this evening.

The Belgian midfielder makes his return from injury after a three-game absence as Pep Guardiola makes four changes on what will be his 300th game in charge of the Club.

Nathan Ake, Riyad Mahrez and Oleksandr Zinchenko, who makes his first start of the season, also come into the starting XI, which will be captained by Ruben Dias.

CITY: Ederson, Cancelo, Dias (C), Ake, Zinchenko, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Bernardo, Mahrez, Grealish, Torres.

SUBS: Carson, Slicker, Walker, Sterling, Gundogan, Jesus, Fernandinho, Foden, Palmer, Lavia.

LEIPZIG: Gulacsi (C), Klostermann, Orban, Mukiele, Angelino, Laimer, Adams, Olmo, Forsberg, Nkunku, Andre Silva.

SUBS: Martinez, Simakan, Haidara, Poulsen, Szoboszlai, Brobbey, Moriba, Gvardiol, Henrichs, Kampl.

WHEN AND WHERE

The encounter with Leipzig is scheduled for Wednesday 15 September, with kick-off set for 20:00pm (UK). The match will be played in front of a packed Etihad Stadium.

If you can’t make it to the Etihad, you can also follow the action via our Matchday Centre here on mancity.com or on our official app, which will provide you with minute-by-minute coverage, or via our Twitter: @ManCity.

A full match replay of all the action will be available to view with a CITY+ subscription from midnight.

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If you live outside of the UK, you can find out how to tune in, wherever you are in the world, by looking at our TV listings at the foot of this page.

Men's Team

Pep: League form perfect preparation for Champions League opener

MATCHDAY LIVE

Former City duo Shaun Wright-Phillips and Shaun Goater will be in the studio for our live show, which is available to watch on all digital platforms and in our Matchday Centre.

They’ll join Cel Spellman to preview our clash with RB Leipzig and react to Pep Guardiola’s team news in the build-up to kick-off, before reconvening at half-time and following the full-time whistle.

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Before the game gets underway, there’ll be plenty of other City-centric chat to enjoy, including a look back at Shaun Wright-Phillips’ Champions League debut and our two guests’ time as teammates.

Time permitting, SWP and the Goat will also react to the post-match thoughts of Pep Guardiola and a player.

Matchday Live is guaranteed to offer a unique blend of expert insight and City-focused humour, making it a must watch for supporters for any of our first team matches!

PEP GUARDIOLA PREVIEW

“It is the first game in the group stage and to talk about the latter stages we have to deserve to be there.

“When we start this competition every season and people ask who is the favourite I cannot answer you. It is unpredictable - many strong teams. The group stage is always difficult.

“Leipzig are always very good. They have a strong philosophy - young players, dynamic, physical, strong, playing narrow in all senses.

“One step at a time. Tomorrow it is Leipzig and it is always important to start well, especially at home.”

LAST TIME OUT

Bernardo Silva’s close-range strike after the hour secured City a deserved 1-0 Premier League victory away to Leicester City on Saturday afternoon.

Our opponents were beaten 4-1 by German champions Bayern Munich in their last outing, with former City winger Leroy Sane among the goalscorers at the Red Bull Arena.

Form Guide

City come into our first Champions League match of the new season in fine fettle, with three successive victories against Norwich, Arsenal and Leicester respectively.

We sit fifth in the Premier League table, boasting both the joint best attacking (11 goals) and defensive records (one conceded) so far.

RB Leipzig have endured a slow start to the new Bundesliga season, and currently sit 12^th with one win and three losses to their name so far.

Nonetheless, Jesse Marsch’s side have finished no lower than third in each of the last three seasons in the German top flight, and will be keen to kickstart their season with a result at the Etihad Stadium.

Previous meeting

City have never faced RB Leipzig before, but can boast an impressive recent record against other Bundesliga teams.

Under Pep Guardiola, City have won nine and drawn one of our ten matches against German sides, scoring 27 times and conceding on seven occasions.

Die Roten Bullen’s record against Premier League opposition currently sits at three wins and three defeats.

Leipzig knocked out Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur en route to a Champions League semi-final berth in 2020, and also beat Manchester United 3-2 in last season’s Group Stages before bowing out to Liverpool in the Round of 16.

MATCH OFFICIALS

Referee: Serdar Gözübüyük (NED)
Assistant Referee(s): Joost van Zuilen (NED), Johan Balder (NED)
Video Assistant Referee: Pol van Boekel (NED)
Assistant VAR: Stéphanie Frappart (FRA)
Fourth official: Jeroen Manschot (NED)

TV LISTINGS

The game will be broadcast live in the UK on BT Sport 3, BTSport.com and the BT Sport App.

The global broadcast information can be found below, courtesy of livesoccertv.