Leeds United host reigning champions Manchester City in the Premier League on Wednesday evening.
Jesse Marsch’s side concluded the first chunk of the season in characteristically chaotic fashion. Leeds’ final four games brought two wins, two defeats, 11 goals scored and just as many conceded.
City signed off with a surprise 2-1 reverse against Brentford, leaving them five points behind league leaders Arsenal going into Christmas. However, Pep Guardiola’s side returned to action with an impressive 3-2 Carabao Cup victory over Liverpool on Thursday night, showing few signs of rust despite sending a league-high 16 players to the World Cup.
Here’s everything you need to know about the meeting between these two sides.
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Leeds vs Man City H2H Results (Last Five Games)
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Leeds team news
There are a raft of uncertainties surrounding the availability of numerous Leeds players ahead of Wednesday’s meeting. Tyler Adams definitely won’t be involved while he serves a suspension for the red card he collected against Tottenham last month.
Neither Luis Sinisterra (foot) nor long-term absentee Stuart Dallas (thigh) will feature but Marsch is hopeful that everyone else will be available.
Illan Meslier and Mateusz Klich have been struggling with illness, while sickness also hampered Patrick Bamford’s recovery from hernia surgery. Crysencio Summerville couldn’t take part in boxer Josh Warrington’s ring walk for his fight against Luis Alberto Lopez earlier in the month as he nursed an ankle injury, drafting in Liam Cooper who later sustained a calf problem himself.
Jack Harrison (adductor), Rodrigo (thigh) and Archie Gray (ankle) are all scheduled to return to training in the week leading up to City’s visit.
Leeds Starting 11 (4-2-3-1): Meslier; Kristensen, Llorente, Koch, Struijk; Forshaw, Roca; Harrison, Aaronson, Summerville; Rodrigo.
Bench: Klaesson, Ayling, Greenwood, Gnonto, Gelhardt, Cooper, Firpo, Bamford, Klich.
Man City team news
Julian Alvarez was the only City player to make it beyond the World Cup quarter-finals and likely won’t return until the new year as he celebrates Argentina’s triumph. Kalvin Phillips “did not arrive in the best condition” from England’s camp according to Guardiola.
Ilkay Gundogan was forced off in the second half of City’s cup success against Liverpool and Nathan Ake was also holding his hamstring at the final whistle. However, as Marsch admitted pre-game, City have a “great squad” to cope with those potential absences.
Man City Starting 11 (4-3-3): Ederson; Walker, Stones, Laporte, Cancelo; De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo; Mahrez, Haaland, Foden.
Bench: Ortega, Carson, Akanji, Dias, Gomez, Lewis, Palmer, Grealish, Ake.
Already off the mark post-World Cup with his stab against Liverpool, there is a strong chance that Erling Haaland lives up to the ominous billing his former RB Salzburg manager Marsch delivered: “We’ll expect him to be fully ready and that causes issues for us.”
Alongside the small matter of City’s other wondrously talented players, Marsch wasn’t overstating the scale of the challenge facing Leeds when he described the game as a “monumental task”.
Prediction: Leeds 1-3 Man City
Credit: 90min.com
