Manchester City vs Leeds United (Premier League): Match Preview, Team News, Head to Head, How To Watch | OneFootball

After back-to-back defeats across competitions, Manchester City host an 18th placed Leeds United side who have only won one game in their last six.

After the 3-0 win against Arne Slot’s Liverpool prior to the international break, there was a feeling that Manchester City were gaining momentum and ready to mount a Premier League title challenge once again. However, going into this fixture, there is a very different feeling.

Last time we saw the Blues in Premier League action, they travelled to St James’ Park. Ruben Dias’ first league goal since 2021 was not enough to claim three points as Harvey Barnes bagged a second-half brace to give Newcastle the victory.

On Tuesday night, a heavily rotated Manchester City side fell to a bitterly disappointing 0-2 defeat to Bayer Leverkusen in the UEFA Champions League. Goals from Alejandro Grimaldo and Patrik Schick were enough to hand City their first defeat in Europe this season.

Daniel Farke’s Leeds come into this match off the back of three consecutive defeats against Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest, and Brighton, sitting in 18th with only three wins this season. A win at the Etihad Stadium could lift them two points clear of the relegation zone, if results go their way.

A win for City could lift them into 2nd, while a defeat could see Guardiola’s side drop to 5th place. With Arsenal playing 2nd placed Chelsea, the right combination of results could leave City fans with renewed hope, however an Arsenal win and City loss would leave the Blues 10 points adrift.

What many might see as a fairly low-stakes matchweek could actually change the rest of the season in a very big way. And ahead of this Saturday’s match at the Etihad Stadium, here is everything you need to know!

Match Details

Manchester City vs Leeds United kicks off at 15:00 (UK) on Saturday 29 November at the Etihad Stadium.

Match Officials

Peter Bankes will oversee this weekend’s fixture, having last officiated Manchester City in their 0-2 defeat to Tottenham Hotspur at the start of this season.

The full list of match officials can be found below!

Team News

Mateo Kovacic misses out as he continues to recover from surgery on his heel, with the Croatian midfielder expected back well into the new year.

Rodri continues to be sidelined as he manages recovery from a hamstring problem that has seen him out of starting contention since he went down against Brentford at the start of October.

Sebastian Bornauw is a doubt for Leeds United having missed training with MCL problems, and Daniel Farke stated a late call would be made concerning the defender’s involvement this weekend.

Concussion protocols will see midfielder Anton Stach ruled out after his collision with Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez. Sean Longstaff has played every game except just one this season for Leeds, although he is now expected to miss four weeks of action with a calf injury.

Pep Guardiola’s Conference Quotes

Pep Guardiola has confirmed Rodri will be ruled out once again for Manchester City as he continues his managed recovery from a hamstring injury, although is “not much far [away]” from a return.

Pep Guardiola: “Not much disappointed about Newcastle but the last one [vs Bayer Leverkusen] yeah, for my decisions and we didn’t try. Simple as that.”

Pep Guardiola: “I had a lot of confidence in them [the players vs Bayer Leverkusen]. Still right now I have a lot, a huge, huge value of what they are as football players, and maybe what I think about them is higher than them of themselves. It was a good lesson for me, even with quite [a lot] of experience as a manager, it was a good lesson for the future.”

Statistics

Manchester City are unbeaten in their last 18 games against newly-promoted sides in the Premier League; the last time they lost was in 2021 against Leeds in a match that finished 1-2.

Erling Haaland sits on 99 goals in the Premier League in 109 appearances. If he scores this Saturday, he will become the fastest player to score 100 goals in the competition’s history – beating Alan Shearer’s record by 13 games.

If Leeds United win, manager Daniel Farke will become the first manager ever to defeat Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City with two different promoted clubs. He previously led Norwich City to a 3-2 win over City in 2019.

Manchester City have won their last six home matches this season, all by a margin of two goals or more. Conversely, Leeds United have lost five of their six away league matches this season, conceding 15 goals and scoring just four.

Erling Haaland is currently averaging 1.17 goals per game this season after 12 games, on course to beat his best figure of 1.03 in the 2022/23 season. No other player has ever averaged more than one goal a game over the course of a season; the closest being Harry Kane with 0.97 per game in the 2016/17 season.

Former Manchester City forward Lukas Nmecha has scored as many Premier League goals this season for Leeds United as the number of appearances he made for the Etihad Stadium side (3).

Head To Head

Manchester City have won four consecutive matches against Leeds United with an aggregate score of 18-2. The last time Leeds won was in 2021, when a brace from Stuart Dallas was enough to upset the hosts in a game that finished 1-2.

Pep Guardiola failed to beat Leeds in his first two meetings with them; his overall record against Leeds is four wins, one draw, and one defeat. Last time out, two goals from Ilkay Gundogan made the difference as Manchester City won 2-1.

Over Pep Guardiola’s six matches against Leeds United, there has been an average of four goals a game – the perfect fixture to put recent woes to rest.

How To Watch

There will be no live TV coverage in the United Kingdom for this match due to the embargo on Saturday 3PM kick-offs. BBC Radio 5 Live will have live commentary for the match.

Viewers in the USA will be able to watch the match on Peacock.

A full list of global TV listings can be found here!

City Xtra will have full live coverage available on X, Facebook and Instagram throughout the matchday, with content also on cityxtra.co.uk.