RB Leipzig vs Man City: Will Pep's men find their shooting boots? Can Gvardiol keep out Haaland?

RB Leipzig play host to Manchester City this Wednesday night in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 clash.

With a quarter-final spot in Europe's greatest club competition at stake, will Pep Guardiola's men get over the line as they finally look to secure the one trophy that's eluded them?

Here's why you should watch and find out from 7pm this Wednesday evening, live on BT Sport 1.

Will Pep get his selection right?

Pep Guardiola has made a habit in recent seasons of overthinking his formation and team selection in big Champions League matches.

Most notably, the Spaniard opted to drop Rodri for Ilkay Gundogan and play without a striker for the Champions League final defeat to Chelsea in 2021. He'd later admit leaving Rodri out was a mistake.

In recent Premier League games even, Guardiola's team selection has turned heads as he's started with what appears to be three at the back and favoured 18-year-old Rico Lewis over Joao Cancelo - who'd eventually leave the club in January on loan.

With Man City deploying three in defence again in Saturday's 1-1 draw against Nottingham Forest, it will be interesting to see how Guardiola sets his side up for the trip to Leipzig.

The big decisions will likely be in defence where Manuel Akanji and Nathan Ake, who've featured most of the season, could again be displaced by Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte.

Kevin De Bruyne, left out for the Tottenham defeat, appears set to start after earning his place back recently but question marks remain over whether Phil Foden or Riyad Mahrez will play on the left and possibly even if Julian Alvarez will displace Erling Haaland in attack.

Will Man City find their shooting boots in front of goal?

There could hardly have been a more dominant team performance that ended in just a draw in the Premier League this season...

Man City managed 23 shots, six on target, in the 1-1 draw with Nottingham Forest on Saturday with the opposition mustering only four with their sole shot on target resulting in Chris Wood's late equaliser.

Guardiola was delighted with his team's performance at the City Ground but pointed to a catalogue of missed chances including Erling Haaland's inexplicable shot over goal from five yards out.

“I don’t think we got what we deserved but football is not about getting what you deserve. At the end, you have to score the goals," was Guardiola's verdict.

“Phil has to score. Haaland has to score, Aymer has to score and today, with his shots, Kevin has to be more accurate. What they have done, first half, one shot in the corner and not much.

“We were stable in many things and set-pieces we defended well and attacked well, but it’s about putting the ball in the net. It’s not about this and the players know this."

Can Man City find their shooting boots in time for the trip to RB Leipzig or will it be another day of missed chances for the Premier League champions?

Can Josko Gvardiol keep out Erling Haaland?

With 28 goals in just 23 Champions League appearances, Erling Haaland is netting at Europe's top table with record-breaking regularity.

The Norwegian burst onto the scene with Red Bull Salzburg with a hat-trick on his debut in the competition back in 2019/20 and hasn't looked back since.

And Man City's thinking in signing the 22-year-old from Borussia Dortmund last summer was very much to provide a focal point and get them over the line in some of these tight Champions League encounters.

Yet Haaland will come up against one of Europe's most accomplished defenders on Wednesday night when takes on Josko Gvardiol of RB Leipzig.

The Croatian centre back impressed hugely at the World Cup in Qatar with his country and has been linked with a big Premier League move.

The one player who managed to get the better of Gvardiol was Lionel Messi, who twisted and turned the centre back in Argentina's semi-final win over Croatia. Will Haaland manage to do the same at the Red Bull Arena?