It’s a huge game at both ends of the table.
Match Preview
Manchester City will hope to pile the pressure back on Arsenal in the Premier League title race when they visit Leeds United on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola’s men were made to work extremely hard for their 2-1 win over Newcastle United last Saturday, which briefly cut the gap at the top of the table to two points.
Arsenal quickly extended it back to five, though they have played a game more, with an emphatic 4-1 victory in the North London derby at Tottenham.
Having spent much of the second half against Newcastle on the back foot, City now face another tricky test at Elland Road against a Leeds side that has only lost twice this calendar year. Victory would once again see City pull within two points of the Gunners, who face a tough fixture with London rivals Chelsea on Sunday.
City will certainly not be taking Leeds lightly after they needed a 90th-minute Phil Foden to claim a 3-2 victory in the reverse fixture in November.
Leeds have not beaten City since a stunning 2-1 away win in 2021. Despite their miserable record in the fixture, Leeds boss Daniel Farke sees reason for optimism as they aim to claim a shock result that would significantly boost their hopes of survival.
“I am looking forward to the game,” Farke said in his pre-match press conference. “Facing one of the best sides over the last decade in the UK and also in world football. They have won everything. Premier League titles, FA Cup, League Cup, Champions League. They have some of the best players in the world and the best manager in the world.
“Erling Haaland is the best striker in the world and Pep knows how to use him. You can not take away the skills of Erling; you have to make sure he is not set up in the position to use his skills and for that we as a whole team need to make sure that the deliveries for him are not the best. It is a side full of quality and we have to be ready.
“It is a big challenge for us and a big task, but a task we are looking forward to. It is always great to play in our living room, in a fully packed Elland Road. It is a game where we are of course the underdog but we have shown several times that in this role we can deliver convincing performances and make out of this a tight game.
“Away against Man City was a game that gave the players belief because we were able to give one of the best teams in the world a proper go. Not too good in terms of points but good for the belief.
“Once we make out of this a tight game, we have a chance to win some points. That is what we are trying to do.”
Leeds have already taken points off Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester United and Newcastle at Elland Road this season. Sitting six points above the relegation zone, it would be a massive result at both ends of the table if they can do the same against City.
Team news for Leeds United v Manchester City
Noah Okafor is Leeds’ only absentee, with a hamstring injury keeping him out.
Jeremy Doku is back in training for City but will not feature at Elland Road. Defender Max Alleyne is a doubt, while Josko Gvardiol (shin) and Mateo Kovacic (ankle) remain out.
Predicted line-ups for Leeds United v Manchester City
Leeds United: Darlow; Justin, Rodon, Struijk; Bogle, Ampadu, Gruev, Gudmundsson; Stach, Aaronson; Calvert-Lewin.
Manchester City: Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Guehi, Ait-Nouri; Rodri, O’Reilly; Bernardo, Foden; Semenyo, Haaland.
How to watch Leeds United v Manchester City: TV and online stream
Leeds United v Manchester City kicks off at 5:30pm on Saturday.
It will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League. The game will also be available to stream via Sky Go.
Stats for Leeds United v Manchester City
- Leeds have lost each of their last five Premier League games against City, having lost just four of their first 16 against them in the competition (W7 D5).
- City have won their last two away league games against Leeds – only once have they won three consecutively, doing so in their first three visits to Elland Road between 1924 and 1928.
- Since the start of December, Leeds have drawn more games than any other Premier League side (8), with the Whites going 1-0 ahead in three of their last four draws, which all ended 1-1.
- Since the 2017-18 season, City have only conceded two-plus goals in three of their 52 Premier League games against newly promoted teams – two were against Leeds (lost 2-1 in April 2021, won 3-2 in November 2025) and the other was against Farke’s Norwich City in September 2019 (lost 3-2).
- City have only lost one of their last 14 Premier League games when playing the day before Arsenal (W10 D3), a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle in November earlier this season.
- Since the start of the 2021-22 season, Leeds have only kept a clean sheet in seven of their 43 Premier League matches when they’ve 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, Leeds have conceded in each of their last 21 matches since a 3-0 win against Chelsea in August 2022.
- Leeds-born striker Haaland scored two Premier League goals on his last visit to Elland Road in December 2022 for City, although he has not netted in his two home games against Leeds. No visiting player has scored two-plus goals in consecutive Premier League visits to Elland Road.
- Nico O’Reilly has scored in each of his last two Premier League appearances for City. The last City player to net in three in a row before the age of 21 was Foden in June/July 2020.
- 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’s 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 has more in his first season (5).
Prediction
Leeds United
1
–
2
Manchester City
Leeds have proven a very tough nut to crack at home, but they are very vulnerable defensively. It’s difficult to envisage City failing to exploit those weaknesses. A hard-fought away win is the likely outcome.
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