Preview: Man City aiming to end losing streak against Leeds
For the second time this season, Man City are on a two-game losing streak. A 2-1 defeat to Newcastle in the Premier League was followed by a 2-0 loss to Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League on Tuesday evening.
The latter is perhaps not as significant, as City are still among the favourites to seal a top-eight spot in the expanded group stage, but another league defeat will sting.
Leeds United are the opposition this Saturday at the Etihad as they look to snap a three-game winless streak of their own.
Pep’s rotation in midweek could stand City in good stead
The new Champions League format simply doesn’t have the same jeopardy as the previous incarnation.
Despite losing to Leverkusen, the Cityzens remain just two points off the summit and will likely progress as one of the best eight teams in the group stage.
As such, Guardiola made 10 changes to his team that faced the Bundesliga side, with the likes of Erling Haaland, Rayan Cherki, Jérémy Doku and Rúben Dias among others were dropped to the bench.
It was evident the Spaniard was prioritising the Premier League clash against Leeds this weekend and he will hope this decision doesn’t come back to haunt him.
Leeds need to improve to avoid relegation dogfight
A 1-0 victory over Everton in their first game back in the top flight suggested they could break the mold and avoid a relegation fight.
Just five days later, they suffered a 5-0 thrashing by Arsenal. Since then, Leeds have won just twice in the Premier League. Both of those wins came against sides who were either 17th or lower in the table.
The pressure is on Daniel Farke to start building momentum and taking the club away from the drop zone.
A trip to the Etihad, then, is the last thing he needs.
Team news
Ahead of the clash, Farke should be able to call upon a full strength squad. Against Aston Villa last week, summer signing Anton Stach suffered concussion and will therefore have to go through a concussion protocol.
If all is well, he will play against City.
Guardiola will be without midfielder Mateo Kovačić for the match due to an ankle injury. Elsewhere, Rodri has a thigh injury and he will be treated with plenty of caution given his injury history over the previous 12 months.
Aside from that, the manager has plenty of options available to him ahead of the game.
Prediction
With Arsenal showcasing their ruthless nature against Spurs last weekend, it is clear that City cannot slip up much further should they wish to remain in contention for the league title.
Resting several of his key players in midweek may well have benefitted City. Add in the fact they have won their previous four matches against Leeds, scoring 16 goals, indicates another three points.
We at FotMob are backing the home side to flex their muscles and seal a comfortable 3-0 win this Saturday afternoon.
(Cover image from IMAGO)
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