Manchester City v Leeds: The Opposition

Manchester City will attempt to put the disappointment of back-to-back defeats behind them as they welcome Leeds United to the Etihad Stadium.

The Blues last outing was a surprise 2-0 Champions League defeat to Bayer Leverkusen, which saw them drop to 9th in the table and out of the automatic qualification zone. That loss came on the back of a 2-1 defeat at Newcastle and City will be anxious to stop the rot against the Premier League new boys.

They face a Leeds United side that look to be in the relegation scrap having won just three of their matches so far this season and sit in relegation zone. A win for the visitors, combined with results elsewhere going in their favour, could see them raise their position in the Premier League, going into the busy December period.

Leeds started their first season back in the Premier League with 1 -0 home win over Everton, but were brought back down to earth when they were thumped 5-0 at Arsenal. Their second win of the season came with a 3-1 win at Wolves, but have won just once since then, a 2-1 home win over West Ham at the end of October.

November has been a trying month for the Yorkshire side, losing all three of their matches this month at Brighton (2-1), Nottingham Forest (3-1) and at home to Aston Villa (1-2), and a match against the Blues was probably the last thing they wanted to face.

Away from home, Leeds have won just one match and lost five, scoring four and conceding 15. They are yet to keep a clean sheet on the road and have failed to score in four of their six matches away from Elland Road.

Luka Nmecha leads the Leeds attack and has scored three of their goals this season. From 12 matches, he has only had nine shots, but that gives an impressive goal conversion rate of 33%, which is higher than Erling Haaland’s, and a shot accuracy of 56%.

Nmecha scored in their last game at home to Villa, and also scored in their previous match, which was the defeat at Forest. His other goal was on the opening day in August, when his 84th minute penalty was enough to secure the three points against Everton.

Sean Longstaff is the man to stop in midfield. The former Newcastle star has created 20 chances, 2 of which have been taken, and has attempted 389 passes so far from midfield. 331 have been completed and he has a pass accuracy of 85%.

Former Norwich boss Daniel Farke has been in charge at Elland Road since July 2023, and was tasked with returning them to the Premier League following their relegation the previous season. Farke almost achieved it in his first season, narrowly missing out on automatic promotion before losing the play-off final to Southampton.

The following season, Leeds went a step further, winning the Championship and returning to the top flight. He has an impressive record at Elland Road, presiding over 117 matches, winning 64 and losing 25, giving him a win ratio of 55%.

In May 2023, two fist half goals by Ilkay Gundogan was enough to see the Blues to victory, however, Gundo missed the opportunity to claim a hat-trick but missed an 84th minute penalty. Leeds then went down the other end of the field and pulled a goal back to set up a nervy finish, but the Blues held on for the three points.