Manchester City Vs Leeds United: The Cityzens Looking For Implementation At Etihad

Manchester City players, looking for a redeem at home (photo: x @ManCity)

JAKARTA - Manchester City and Leeds United both tried to return to winning ways when they met at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday night, November 29 local time, in the Premier League continued. This meeting became the first since May 2023, when Ilkay Gundogan's two goals in the first half sealed a 2-1 win for The Citizens in Etihad.

Pep Guardiola's 100th match in the Champions League as Manchester City coach ended in disappointment. Lowering the division of tens of changes from the previous match 'City fell 2-0 to Bayer Leverkusen, their first group stage defeat at Etihad in more than seven years.

Guardiola's massive rotation decision was seen as too many', after the team appeared unmatched and the coating players failed to take advantage of the opportunity. This defeat comes just three days after City lost 2-1 to Newcastle United in the league, a result that ended four consecutive wins and sent them down to third in the standings, seven points behind Arsenal who will meet Chelsea on Sunday, November 30.

Guardiola is now demanding a quick response. City entered this match with a winning record in the last four encounters against Leeds in the Premier League the same number as their win in the first 16 meetings in the division (D5 L7). Of the four wins, City have scored 16 goals, including a landslide 7-0 win at Etihad in December 2021.

City also set a record six consecutive home wins in the league with a minimum margin of two goals, something they last achieved from January to May 2023. Their record against the promotional team also impressed: 23 wins from the last 25 matches (D2), although the last loss to the promotional team was against Leeds in April 2021.

Meanwhile, Leeds came in a condition far from ideal. They lost five defeats in the last six Premier League games, including three consecutive defeats to Brighton (3-0), Nottingham Forest (3-1), and Aston Villa (2-1).

Like against Forest, Leeds took the lead again through City's former young player, Lukas Nmecha, but lost control of the game in the second half. Two goals Morgan Rogers confirmed the seventh Leeds defeat this season an unprecedented record when they always took the lead in three consecutive defeats.

Leeds' last four goals in the league were all created in the first 15 minutes of the game, more than any team this season. But overall, they have only scored 11 goals from 12 games, only Wolves are worse. The series of negative results made coach Daniel Farke's position questionable, especially since Leeds have now conceded nine games in a row (17 goals in total) and fell into the relegation zone, although it is still on the same side as West Ham in 17th place.

Leeds also lost their last two league trips to the Etihad. A long-range defeat to that last occurred in 1963 '1968 (four matches). Farke was able to take a little optimism from his success in defeating City with Norwich in 2019 even though the only coach to ever beat City with two different promotional teams was Bryan Robson.

Manchester City still have to perform without duo midfielders Mateo Kovacic and Rodri. Kovacic is out for a long time due to ankle problems, while Rodri still needs time to get back in shape after a hamstring injury. The absence of these two important players opened up opportunities for Nico Gonzalez to appear as the seventh consecutive starter in a defensive midfielder position.

Guardiola almost certainly returned to lowering the stronger core formation, different from the match against Leverkusen. The four defenders predicted to appear are Matheus Nunes, Ruben Dias, Josko Gvardiol, and Nico O'pelangi, guarding goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma. In midfield, Bernardo Silva or Tijjani Reijnders could be Gonzalez's companion.

Di lini serangan, Jeremy Doku, Phil Foden, dan Rayan Cherki hampir pasti kembali sebagai pendukung Erling Haaland, yang lahir di Leeds dan kini mengejar gol ke-100 di Premier League. Haaland telah mencetak gol di lima laga ligan terakhir di Etihad.

In the Leeds camp, it was confirmed that Anton Stach was absent after a head impact against Aston Villa and had to undergo a concussion protocol. Sean Longstaff also pulled out four to six weeks due to a calf injury, while Defender Sebastiaan Bornauw had a knee problem and waited for the final examination to determine his readiness to play.

With the absence of Stage and Longstaff, Leeds' midfield is likely filled by Ao Tanaka and Ilia Gruev with Ethan Ampadu who are now just one more yellow card from suspension. Lukas Nmecha, who has always scored the opener in his three Premier League goals, has the chance to defend his position as the main striker over Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Manchester City's defeat usually sparked a strong response from Guardiola's troops. This is certainly bad news for Leeds who have difficulty maintaining consistency and are vulnerable to conceding. With the squad fresher, motivated, and playing at home, City is believed to be able to control the game and win convincingly.

Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Donnarumma; Nunes, Dias, Gvardiol, O'pelan; Bernardo, Gonzalez; Cherki, Foden, Doku; Haaland

Leeds United (4-3-3):Perri; Bogle, Rodon, Struijk, Gudmundsson; Gruev, Ampadu, Tanaka; James, Nmecha, Gnonto

Prediction: Manchester City 3-0 Leeds United