Manchester City reclaimed top spot on Wednesday night with a resounding win at home to West Ham. The champions responded in excellent fashion after Arsenal's win against Chelsea on Tuesday night, which saw the Gunners go top temporarily.
The Blues face Sam Allardyce's Leeds United in the second of an Etihad double header this week. Pep Guardiola's men will be hoping to claim another three points at home that would see them move one step closer to their very own coronation. Kick-off for this important home game is at 3 PM (BST) on Saturday, May 6th, live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom.
Team News
Guardiola confirmed that Kevin De Bruyne trained well on Thursday and is in contention to face Leeds on Saturday after missing the last two games against Fulham and West Ham due to some niggles. The Belgian's return will provide a huge boost to the City manager with the trip to Real Madrid to come in midweek.
Guardiola did also say in his press conference that his players were really tired and he would have to see how the players are and how they recover before he picks his side to face Leeds.
Goalkeeper Ederson, who missed the midweek win against West Ham, is another player who the Catalan will run the rule over; the City manager stated that “tomorrow we'll decide” when asked if Ederson would be back in goal on Saturday.
Predicted XI:
Ederson, Akanji, Stones, Dias, Ake, Rodri, Gundogan, Bernardo, Foden, Haaland, Grealish
Opposition
Leeds come into this game with a new manager, none other than survival specialist Sam Allardyce, who will have his work cut out if the Yorkshire club are to survive.
Allardyce will have to shore up their defence and fast. Leeds have conceded eighteen goals in their last five games, which included drubbings at Elland Road by Liverpool and Crystal Palace.
Leeds have taken just a single point in their last five games, that coming against Leicester at Elland Road, a game they arguably should have won.
Leeds currently sit just above the drop zone due to goal difference, and with the team picking up just six points from their last ten games, it is no surprise they have decided to make a managerial change.
Allardyce did confirm that Stuart Dallas, Tyler Adams, Luis Sinisterra, and Liam Cooper will all miss Saturday's game at the Etihad. Leeds have no other known absentees due to injuries or suspension.
Head-to-Head
Played: 109
Won: 48
Drawn: 18
Lost: 43
The reverse fixture at Elland Road between the two teams was the Blues' first league game back after the World Cup. Rordri that night opened the scoring on the stroke of halftime with a neat low finish into the net after Illan Meslier parried the ball into his path.
Erling Haaland grabbed himself a brace, the Norwegian returning to his city of birth. Haaland's brace saw him become the quickest to reach 20 Premier League goals accomplishing the feat in just 14 appearances. The Blues have won their last three games against Leeds, scoring fourteen goals in that time, conceding just one.
The last time City faced Leeds at the Etihad was in December 2021, when the Blues put seven past Leeds without reply. There is no room for complacency, however; Leeds' last points against Guardiola's side came in April of 2021 when the ten men of Leeds ran out 2-1 winners thanks to a late winner from Dallas. In fact, the Blues that season took just one point from a possible six against the Yorkshire side.
If the Blues are to move one step closer to the Premier League title, they can ill afford to get complacent against Leeds on Saturday and will hope to continue their recent run of form against the side from West Yorkshire.
Officials
Referee: Andy Madley
Assistants: Harry Lennard & Nick Hopton
Fourth Official: Thomas Bramall
VAR: Simon Hooper
Assistant VAR: Natalie Aspinall
Written by: @MakThatGuy
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