Resurgent Bayer Leverkusen head to the Etihad Stadium aiming to continue upturn in form against Manchester City | OneFootball

The fifth round of matches in the 2025-26 Champions League group phase will see Manchester City welcome Bayer Leverkusen to the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday.

The hosts will be aiming to secure an immediate return to winning ways off the back of a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle United, while the visitors will set out to make it four victories on the bounce.

Off the back of a 3-0 demolition of Liverpool just before the international break, City’s quest for league glory was dealt a blow on Tyneside as Newcastle claimed a hard-fought win when the sides faced off on Saturday.

Harvey Barnes’ double either side of a Ruben Dias strike condemned Pep Guardiola’s men to a first defeat in just under a month.

The result has seen City drop down to third in the Premier League table ahead of their return to the European scene, where they sit fourth in the standings.

With two of the three teams above them due to play each other on Wednesday, a victory against Leverkusen would put City well on course for automatic qualification after they had to make do with a qualification playoff last season.

Tuesday’s clash is the first-ever competitive meeting between the sides. Nonetheless, City have enjoyed favourable outings in recent meetings against Bundesliga sides, most recently a 4-1 win over Borussia Dortmund.

After losing head coach Xabi Alonso and several key players over the summer, Leverkusen unsurprisingly had a rough start to proceedings this term and parted ways with Erik ten Hag less than a month into the campaign.

The appointment of Kasper Hjulmand yielded immediate dividends as Leverkusen went unbeaten across their next seven games in all competitions before suffering a 7-2 loss to Paris Saint-Germain on October 21.

A 2-0 triumph over Freiburg five days later helped Die Werkself get themselves back on track, and they have since won four of their subsequent five matches following Saturday’s 3-1 triumph over Wolfsburg.

Leverkusen’s renaissance has seen them rise to second in the Bundesliga, behind runaway leaders Bayern Munich. However, Tuesday’s visitors have work to do on the continental front, having picked up just five points from a possible 12.

Back in England for the first time since a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Liverpool last November, Leverkusen will be aiming to give a better account of themselves in the first of two consecutive Champions League outings against English opponents.