Champions League Matchday 5: Manchester City vs Bayer Leverkusen facts

Manchester City put their unbeaten UEFA Champions League campaign on the line at home to a Bayer Leverkusen team that claimed their first victory in this season's competition in their last fixture.

Last match

This is the teams' first meeting despite City having faced Spanish opposition 38 times and Leverkusen encountering English teams on 24 occasions.

City have lost only one of their last 24 matches against German teams (W19 D4).

City have won their last 12 games against German visitors in Manchester, beating Borussia Dortmund 4-1 on Matchday 4.

A 4-0 loss at Liverpool on Matchday 4 last season means Leverkusen have won only one of their 12 away games at English teams (D3 L8) – 1-0 at Tottenham at Wembley in the 2016/17 group stage.

Leverkusen have five victories – and 13 defeats – in their 24 games against English teams.

Manchester City

This is City's 15th successive season in the Champions League proper; they have featured in every campaign since 2011/12 and have reached the knockout stages in each of the last 12.

Having finished 22nd in last season's league phase (W3 D2 L3), City lost to holders Real Madrid in the knockout phase play-offs (2-3 h, 1-3 a).

Leverkusen 

Leverkusen are featuring in the Champions League proper for the 15th time – although only the fourth in nine seasons.

In 2024/25 a team coached by Xabi Alonso finished sixth in the league phase (W5 D1 L2) only to lose an all-German last-16 tie to Bayern München (0-3 a, 0-2 h).

Key stats

The win at home to Dortmund last time out was only City's fourth in 11 Champions League matches (D2 L5) – but a third in four this season (D1).

City are unbeaten in 23 home group stage/league phase games (W20 D3), since a 1-2 Matchday 1 loss to Lyon in 2018/19.

Erling Haaland was on target against Dortmund to make it 38 goals in 34 group stage/league phase appearances.

The goal against Dortmund was Haaland's tenth in his nine Champions League appearances against German teams – one more than against Spanish sides.

Haaland has scored in five successive Champions League matches for the third time; he found the net in six in a row as a Dortmund player between 20 October 2020 and 9 March 2021.

City have found the net in all but two of their last 33 European matches and have scored 297 Champions League goals, Matchday 1 to final.

A 1-0 win at Benfica on Matchday 4 ended Leverkusen's run of five Champions League games without a victory (D2 L3).

Leverkusen have lost only three of their last 20 European group stage/league phase matches (W12 D5).

Die Werkself have won 49 European Cup matches.