Last season’s beaten finalists in Europe’s elite club competition, Pep Guardiola’s squad will welcome the Bundesliga side to the Etihad on the back of three successive Premier League victories.
Saturday’s latest success – an impressive 1-0 triumph at Leicester – lifted City up into fifth place in the Premier League table, just a point off top spot.
And former City central defender Onuoha, speaking on last Saturday’s latest edition of our Matchday Live show, said he believed Guardiola’s side were ideally primed to start our European campaign in winning fashion.
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“Earlier in the season, anything could happen, but I like where City are at this moment in time,” Onuoha declared.
“City will be motivated to get to that (top) table again, I fancy us to win against anybody here.
“I expect a good performance (against Leipzig) and maybe some changes from the weekend, but that’s not a weakness.
“It could be Kevin De Bruyne, Phil Foden, John Stones (who comes in).
“It will be a good test but we’ve got more than enough to do well in that game.”
Onuoha’s optimism ahead of the start of our European campaign was echoed by David James, who was his fellow guest on Saturday’s edition of Matchday Live.
The former City and England keeper pointed to the single-minded focus of Bernardo Silva in his post-match remarks after our 1-0 win at Leicester as the perfect barometer of our approach.
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And with so many strong sides vying for Champions League glory this term, James said it was all about peaking at the right time for next May’s final.
“Listening to Bernardo (after the Leicester game), that’s what you want to hear. It’s about the next game, win here Wednesday, then go onto the next game,” James declared.
“When it comes to the end, City will be in the position where we could win the Champions League.”
“Anyone could be favourites, don’t worry about that. It’s about who does the deal at the end.”
Onuoha echoed that assertion and pointed out that a touch of good fortune also plays an important role over the course of a Champions League campaign.
“City were favourites last season and Paris Saint-Germain probably second or third but when you bring in Sergio Ramos or Lionel Messi the expectation goes that little bit higher,” Onuoha added.
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“But what difference does it make being favourites anyway? You still need to be able to perform, and to have that little bit of luck along the way.
“You’ve got so many ups and downs as it is, you just need to hit form at the right time.
“City are more than capable of getting to another final and win it should it go our way this year.”
