Leeds United are preparing for one of their toughest games of the season this weekend against Manchester City at the Etihad, who have suffered back-to-back defeats under Pep Guardiola.
United’s form has taken a severe turn for the worse in the past two months. The last six games have yielded five defeats and just a three-point return.
As a result, the Whites are now in the bottom three and face three of England’s biggest clubs in a row, starting with Manchester City on Saturday.
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Manchester City looking for return to winning ways against Leeds United after defeat in Champions League
Leeds aren’t going to the Etihad to face a side at the peak of their powers right now, which seemed to be the case every year last time we were in the Premier League.
After dispatching Liverpool prior to the international break, Pep Guardiola’s side have returned to action with successive defeats.
Losing to Newcastle United on Saturday was followed by a first loss in their Champions League campaign, at home to Bayer Leverkusen.
Manchester City were beaten in the Champions League by Bayer Leverkusen this week. (REUTERS/Peter Powell)
Goals from Alex Grimaldo and Patrik Schick move Leverkusen up to 13th in the UCL table, while City were left to lament a second poor performance amidst 10 changes from Guardiola.
Manchester City rest almost entire starting XI as they prepare for Leeds United
It was very obvious what the focus was for Man City this week, and it wasn’t a home meeting with Leverkusen, it’s Leeds.
That much was telling in Guardiola’s confirmed starting XI. After St James’ Park, only midfielder Nico Gonzalez kept his place as the City boss made 10 changes with a clear view to the weekend against United.
Tonight’s City line-up 💪🩵
XI | Trafford, Khusanov, Stones (C), Ake, Ait-Nouri, Lewis, Nico, Reijnders, Bobb, Savinho, Marmoush
SUBS | Bettinelli, Donnarumma, Dias, Haaland, Cherki, Doku, Bernardo, Gvardiol, Nunes, O'Reilly, Foden pic.twitter.com/YCDvNRmPYN
— Manchester City (@ManCity) November 25, 2025
In particular, Erling Haaland will be looking to Saturday’s meeting against the club he’s followed since his youth to break his mini-drought of two appearances without a goal.
Jeff Stelling holds the same opinion. He posted on X about City’s lineup, outlining how Guardiola is prioritising their Premier League fixture over the Champions League’s league phase:
Peps team selection tells you everything that is wrong with Champions League in this format – no jeopardy. City’s game v Leeds at week end far more important !
— Jeff Stelling (@JeffStelling) November 25, 2025
Leeds United need small miracle to beat Manchester City – but they’re not invincible
After two successive losses, you’re not going to see Guardiola pull his punches for a third game on the trot. Which spells trouble for Leeds this weekend.
He made 10 changes clearly proving that this league phase of the UCL isn’t that crucial. Meanwhile, they need a big turnaround in the league to catch Arsenal, meaning all focus goes into Saturday.
That’s far from ideal for Leeds. But, their up-and-down form at the moment means they’re not unbeatable. The right setup from Leeds could make this a game where we have at least a sliver of a chance.
Naive defending and subs made too late won’t give us a chance, though.
Read more: Leeds United star rivals Erling Haaland for key stat – must start v Manchester City.