Manchester City Aims to Bounce Back Against RB Leipzig in Champions League Clash
Enzo Maresca and his Manchester City players are set to travel to Germany as they look to recover from a streak of three consecutive matches without a win, including two recent defeats in Premier League matches against Aston Villa and Brighton & Hove Albion. The latter match resulted in a narrow 0-1 victory for the Seagulls at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, as they made their own comeback following a dramatic penalty shoot-out defeat in the same location just days prior.
In the UEFA Champions League, however, City enters this fixture with momentum from a commanding 5-1 victory against AEK Athens at home late last month. Phil Foden’s hat-trick, along with goals from Rayan Cherki and Elliot Anderson, propelled them to that win.
On the opposite side, RB Leipzig has had a rocky start to their league campaign, recording two defeats and one win so far. They suffered heavy losses to Real Madrid and Como, both ending in 1-4 defeats, while they secured a 1-0 victory against PSV at home in mid-October.
Managed by former Manchester City defender Martin Demichelis, RB Leipzig currently occupies fourth place in the Bundesliga behind Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund, and Freiburg.
As the encounter between RB Leipzig and Manchester City approaches, UEFA has announced the match officials for the game at Red Bull Arena.
Advertisement
Italy’s 45-year-old referee Marco Guida will officiate the match between Manchester City and RB Leipzig this week. Guida will officiate his ninth match of the season across various competitions, including Serie A, UEFA Champions League, Europa League, and UEFA Nations League.
Throughout his eight matches so far this season, Guida has issued 26 yellow cards without any red card or second yellow dismissals, and awarded just one penalty.
This match will also serve as the first officiated encounter involving Manchester City’s senior men’s team for Guida, who has previously officiated the club only in the UEFA Youth League during a 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid in February 2016.
Advertisement
Alongside Marco Guida in the match will be assistant referees Giorgio Peretti and Giuseppe Perrotti, also from Italy.
Video Assistant Referees
In the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) room for the match will be officials Daniele Chiffi serving as the Video Assistant Referee and Marco Di Bello as the Assistant Video Assistant Referee.
Italian referee Matteo Marcenaro will act as the fourth official, managing the proceedings between RB Leipzig’s Martin Demichelis and Manchester City’s Enzo Maresca.
