There is no recipe against Haaland. He is an exceptional striker.Martín Demichelis, RB Leipzig coach dpa via Yahoo Sports

City need a result. They have not won any of their last three games in 90 minutes. They lost at Aston Villa, their first Premier League defeat of the season, then beat Brighton on penalties in the Carabao Cup after a 2-2 draw. On Saturday Brighton won 1-0 at the Etihad, which let Arsenal go top.

"We are probably conceding silly goals that we can avoid," Maresca said afterwards, and City have let in double figures in their last six matches. Europe has been kinder. They won 2-0 at Porto, lost 4-2 at home to Paris Saint-Germain and then beat AEK Athens 5-1, with Phil Foden scoring a hat-trick.

Leipzig have only three points from three games and were beaten 4-1 at Real Madrid last time out in this competition. Their domestic form is better: Saturday's 2-0 win at Schalke kept them fourth in the Bundesliga, and Demichelis says the team has become "more solid" over its last three games.

The two coaches are close. Demichelis played for City from 2013 to 2016 and calls Maresca, who worked twice under Pep Guardiola before taking over this season, "almost like a brother to me". He joked that Maresca had already asked him for his line-up.

These sides last met in November 2023, when City came from two goals down at half-time to win 3-2. Their previous six meetings have produced 30 goals. Erling Haaland has scored 12 of them in eight games, including five in the 7-0 rout in 2023.

"There is no recipe against Haaland," Demichelis admitted. "We have to try to keep the ball ourselves and not let the opponent come forward in the first place."

Christoph Baumgartner, back from a long injury, will make his first start of the season. Antonio Nusa, the club's top scorer with five goals, is the hosts' main threat out wide.

Compiled from City Xtra via Yahoo Sports, LiveScore, Sports Mole, dpa via Yahoo Sports, RB Leipzig via Yahoo Sports.

The stronger we start, the less chances we should give to Fenerbahce, because otherwise they are going to be dangerous.Andoni Iraola, Liverpool head coach Liverpoolfc.com

Liverpool lead the way in Europe even as their league form stutters. Three wins from three have them third in the league-phase table with nine points. They scored six against LASK and came from behind to beat Villarreal 4-3 at Anfield, and they are unbeaten away from home all season.

Sunday was a setback. Arsenal won 1-0 at Anfield, their first league win there in 14 years, but Andoni Iraola reported no new injuries from the game.

The hosts are in a mess. Ismail Kartal resigned last month, and Kuyt, who scored 71 goals in 285 games for Liverpool, has stepped up from assistant to interim head coach. Fenerbahçe are still looking for a first league-phase win. Their only point came from a 2-2 draw with Slavia Prague, and they arrive on the back of consecutive 2-1 league defeats, the latest at home to Göztepe.

Iraola still expects a test. "In the midfield they have a very good technical level," he said. "If we allow them a lot of time on the ball or we don't press them properly, we are going to suffer."

The main absence is Ryan Gravenberch, who has a fractured heel and did not travel. "It's about the pain," Iraola said. Trey Nyoni has played most of Liverpool's recent games, and Iraola backed him: "We trust him." Dominik Szoboszlai returned on Sunday and could partner Alexis Mac Allister.

For the hosts, Romelu Lukaku leads the line with Mason Greenwood among those behind him. Nathan Aké is a doubt and Marco Asensio needs knee surgery.

Kick-off is at 17:45, and it should be a febrile night: TNT Sports calls the stadium home to "one of the great atmospheres in world football".

Compiled from Liverpoolfc.com, Sports Mole, Liverpool Echo, TNT Sports.