Manchester City vs Bayer Leverkusen Prediction 25.11.2025 | UEFA Champions League

It’s fair to say that Manchester City are enjoying the kind of Champions League start everyone expected from them, with their only slip coming in a 2-2 draw away at Monaco on Matchday Two, while the remaining three assignments were handled in convincing, winning fashion.

With four games played, Pep Guardiola’s men sit just behind the flawless trio of Bayern, Arsenal and Inter, and they’ll be eager to strengthen their position with another commanding display — even as they enter this European contest on the back of a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle at St James’ Park.

Encouragingly for the champions, that Premier League setback looks more like a brief stumble than a cause for concern, especially given their outstanding momentum at home, where they’ve strung together seven consecutive victories across all competitions, each secured by a margin of at least two goals.

Overall, City appear to be in solid health, with Guardiola having a nearly full squad at his disposal — the only absentees being midfield duo Rodri and Mateo Kovačić, who remain in the final stages of their injury rehabilitation.

From their perspective, Bayer Leverkusen can hardly claim to have impressed during the opening half of the UCL group stage, having been forced to settle for frustrating draws against Copenhagen and PSV Eindhoven before suffering a humiliating 7-2 collapse to PSG on matchday three.

At last, the 2023 Bundesliga champions delivered relief to their supporters and climbed the standings after edging Benfica 1-0 at the Estádio da Luz — a tense contest decided by super-sub Patrik Schick, whose crucial strike secured a massive three points and lifted Leverkusen back into contention.

Domestically, the Werkself returned from the November international break looking exactly as ruthless as before, hammering Heidenheim for six without reply and following that up with a polished 3-1 dismantling of Wolfsburg at the Volkswagen Arena, keeping themselves firmly in the title race.

Head coach Kasper Hjulmand, however, will have to navigate Tuesday’s action without five sidelined players, while Arthur remains a major doubt and will undergo a late assessment after suffering a back issue in training ahead of the Wolfsburg clash.