(Football news) Over the last decade Manchester City have been one of the most successful teams in Europe. However the success hasn’t translated into Champions League glory as they are still searching for their first title. This season Manchester City cruised past the group stage with 4 wins and 2 draws.

City are currently 2 points behind Arsenal in the Premier League and have not been at their best this season. Now they prepare to face RB Leipzig in the Round of 16. Leipzig on the other hand finished 2nd in their UCL group behind Real Madrid. The German club are 5th in the Bundesliga, 4 points behind joint table toppers Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and Union Berlin.

Manchester City have been hit with a big blow as Kevin De Bruyne and Aymeric Laporte have not traveled with the team due to illness. John Stones is also out as he hasn’t recovered from his hamstring injury. Pep Guardiola has been playing a 3 at the back formation where one of the midfielders drops deep to make it a back 4 recently.

Manchester City are likely to line-up in the same way once again. Erling Haaland will be the danger man but Jack Grealish and Riyad Mahrez on the wing will also be very crucial. Manchester City have a history of being on the receiving end of upsets in this competition. Pep Guardiola will be very cautious of that as he wouldn’t want that to happen.

RB Leipzig have injury issues of their own as Peter Gulacsi, Dani Olmo and Abdou Diallo are out of contention. Christopher Nkunku and Konrad Laimer who have been struggling with injuries returned to come off the bench on the weekend which is a big boost. Timo Werner has a lot of experience playing against Manchester City and he will be the main man in attack for them. Midfielder Emil Forsberg will be the creator in chief for the home side as he will have the difficult task of breaking down Manchester City’s defense.

Also read: Real Madrid come back from 2-0 down to win 2-5 at Anfield