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Manchester City v RB Leipzig preview: Home comforts should see City through

Manchester City welcome RB Leipzig to the Etihad Stadium for the second leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie on Tuesday with everything still to play for.

The two teams shared the spoils in a 1-1 draw at the Red Bull Arena in last month's first leg, with Riyad Mahrez's first-half opener for City being cancelled out by Josko Gvardiol's header after the restart.

City are bidding to make it through to the quarter-finals of Europe's premier club competition for the sixth season in a row and are available to win the match at 4/11 in the Full Time Result market, while Leipzig are 13/2 to spring a surprise in Manchester - the draw, which would see the tie head to extra-time, is available at 17/4.

WhatMan City v RB Leipzig
WhereEtihad Stadium, Manchester
When20:00, Tuesday 14th March 
How to watchBT Sport 1
OddsMan City 4/11, Draw 17/4, RB Leipzig 13/2

Citizens imperious on home soil

Pep Guardiola would have been pleased by what he saw from his side during the opening 45 minutes of last month's first leg, but they were pegged back during the second half and were ultimately forced to settle for a share of the spoils.

However, since then City have won four matches on the spin across all competitions, conceding just one goal, and they will be confident of getting the job done at the Etihad, where they boast a superb record in the Champions League.

The Citizens are unbeaten in their last 23 matches on home soil in Europe's premier club competition, registering 21 wins during that time, with Lyon the last team to triumph at the Etihad in the Champions League - that victory coming nearly five years ago.

That winning sequence includes a 6-3 victory over Leipzig during last season's group stage, although a repeat of that scoreline seems almost impossible and is a 300/1 shot in the Correct Score market.

City have also won all six of their home matches in 2023 - they are 4/11 to make that a magnificent seven on Tuesday night.

Leipzig cannot be underestimated

Leipzig showed during the second half of last month's first leg that they can mix it with the very best in Europe, although since then they have lost to Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga - a result that dented their hopes of being crowned champions of Germany for the first time.

The loss at Signal Iduna Park also brought Leipzig's nine-match unbeaten away run to an end, but they will still head to the Etihad with confidence given they have won their last two away games in the Champions League without conceding, against Celtic and Shakhtar Donetsk.

Leipzig will also be buoyed by the three goals they scored on their last visit to the Etihad and goals have certainly not been an issue for Marco Rose's side on the road in the Champions League.

They have scored two or more in five of their last six away matches in the competition - a run that started with that 6-3 defeat to City in September 2021.

Given the attacking quality of both sides, backing over 3.5 goals in Tuesday's match could offer good value at 6/4.

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No injury concerns for hosts

City appear to have a fully fit squad to choose from, with Phil Foden having shaken off his recent foot issue to start Saturday's 1-0 Premier League win at Crystal Palace.

The likes of Kevin De Bruyne, Kyle Walker and Mahrez were left out of the starting XI for that contest, but they are all in contention to feature from the off on Tuesday.

Erling Haaland should also be available to lead the line. He scored the winner from the penalty spot against Palace - his 34th goal of the season - and the Norwegian marksman is 4/7 in the Anytime Goalscorer market to net against a Leipzig team he will know well from his time playing in the Bundesliga.

Leipzig set to be without key attacking threat

While City have their main source for goals fit and firing, the same cannot be said for Leipzig, with 17-goal Christopher Nkunku set to miss out with the hamstring injury he picked up in the defeat at Dortmund.

Nkunku's absence will be a huge blow for the Bundesliga side, not least as he netted a hat-trick in their 6-3 defeat at the Etihad last season, with the France international joining Xaver Schlager, Peter Gulacsi and Abdou Diallo on the treatment table.

To make matters worse for Rose and his team, there has also been a sickness bug within the Leipzig camp, although that did not stop them from warming up for the clash with City by claiming a comprehensive 3-0 win over Borussia Monchengladbach in the Bundesliga on Saturday.

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