Leeds United will host Manchester City at Elland Road on Saturday, looking to boost their survival hopes with a positive result at home.
Leeds United are coming into this game vs Manchester City on the back of three draws and two wins from their last six Premier League games. Even though the Whites have not picked up too many wins, they have made themselves difficult to beat. It will be interesting to see if they can get a good result here.
Meanwhile, Manchester City have picked up five wins in a row across all competitions, and they will look to close the gap with Arsenal with a victory here. Pep Guardiola’s men simply cannot afford to drop points if they want to win the Premier League title.
City are undoubtedly the better team on paper, and they should be able to get the job done. It will be interesting to see if they can pick up all three points. The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the encounter ahead of the latest meeting between the two sides.
Team News & Tactics
Leeds United
Daniel Farke will be without Noah Okafor due to a hamstring injury. However, Gabriel Gudmundsson is fit and available after recovering from an illness Leeds United will shape up in a 3-5-2 formation vs Manchester City, with Lucas Perri in goal.
In the back three, Sebastiaan Bornauw will start alongside Jaka Bijol and Joe Rodon. Meanwhile, Jayden Bogle and Gabriel Gudmundsson will start as the wing-backs. They will look to keep things tight at the back and hit the away side on the break.
As for the midfield unit, Ao Tanaka and Ilia Gruev will provide defensive cover and physicality in the middle of the park. Brenden Aaronson will add drive to the midfield alongside them. Finally, Lukas Nmecha will lead the line for Leeds United, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin lining up alongside him.
Probable Lineup (3-5-2): Perri; Bornauw, Bijol, Struijk; Bogle, Aaronson, Tanaka, Gruev, Gudmundsson; Nmecha, Calvert-Lewin
Manchester City
Mateo Kovacic (ankle), Jeremy Doku (calf), and Josko Gvardiol (calf) are ruled out for the away side. Meanwhile, Max Alleyne faces a late fitness test to determine his availability. Manchester City will shape up in a 4-2-3-1 formation vs Leeds United, with Gianluigi Donnarumma in goal.
Matheus Nunes and Nico O’Reilly will start as the full-backs. They will keep things tight at the back and help out in the final third. Meanwhile, Ruben Dias and Marc Guehi will form the central defensive partnership.
As for the midfield unit, Rodri will start in the defensive midfield role, looking to control the tempo and provide defensive cover, with Tijjani Reijnders adding drive and creativity alongside him.
Bernardo Silva will add creativity from the attacking midfield role. Phil Foden and Antoine Semenyo will add flair and goals from the flanks, with Erling Haaland leading the line for Manchester City vs Leeds United on Saturday.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Guehi, O’Reilly; Rodri, Reijnders; Foden, Silva, Semenyo; Haaland
Key Stats
- Manchester City have won at both half-time and full-time in their last five matches against Leeds United across all competitions.
- Manchester City have won their last five matches against Leeds in all competitions. 26 goals have been scored in the last six matches across all competitions.
- Leeds United are unbeaten in five of their last six matches in all competitions. Since the start of December, the Whites have drawn more games than any other Premier League side (8), with the West Yorkshire outfit going 1-0 ahead in three of their last four draws which all ended 1-1.
- Since the start of the 2021/22 season, Leeds United have only kept a clean sheet in seven of their 43 Premier League matches when they have scored first. Their only two clean sheets of that type this season saw them go 1-0 up in the 84th (vs Everton) and 90th (vs Fulham) minutes; when going 1-0 up in the first half, the Whites have conceded in each of their last 21 matches since a 3-0 win against Chelsea in August 2022.
- Three of Anton Stach’s four Premier League goals have been direct free-kick goals, with only Ian Harte in 2000/01 (4) ever scoring more in a Premier League season for Leeds. He is the first player to score three in his debut Premier League season since James Maddison in 2018-19 (3 for Leicester) and only Laurent Robert in 2001/02 for Newcastle United has more in his first season (5).
Player to Watch
Erling Haaland
The Norwegian international striker is our key player to watch out for. Manchester City will need him to step up and deliver to get a good result here. Haaland is in impressive form right now, and he is the top scorer in the Premier League this season.
The 25-year-old will look to punish a vulnerable Leeds United defence here and create opportunities for his teammates as well. Interestingly, Haaland scored two Premier League goals on his last visit to Elland Road in December 2022 for Manchester City.
However, he has not netted in his two home games against Leeds United. No visiting player has scored two or more goals in consecutive Premier League visits to Elland Road. Leeds United have conceded in their last six matches in all competitions, and they will struggle to keep the Manchester City star quiet here. So, it is no wonder he is a captaincy candidate in FPL for Gameweek 28.
Prediction
Leeds United 1-3 Manchester City
Both teams will be desperate for a victory here for very different reasons, and this is likely to be a cracking contest. Neither side is defensive in their approach, and they are unlikely to sit back. This will be an open game with plenty of chances on offer. Leeds United and Manchester City will look to get on the scoresheet here, and a high-scoring game is on the cards.
However, Manchester City are the better team, and they have top-quality players at their disposal. Leeds United have looked quite vulnerable defensively, and they are likely to be let down by the defensive unit here. A comfortable victory for Manchester City is likely. The Hard Tackle predicts a 3-1 win for Pep Guardiola and his charges.
