Leeds United 1 Aston Villa 2: Lee Sobot's YEP video verdict
Leeds United face one of their toughest away days of the Premier League season when they go to Manchester City on Saturday.
Manchester City midfielder Tijjani Reijnders has urged his teammates to swallow the bitter pill of Champions League defeat and ‘be ready’ for Leeds United on Saturday.
Reijnders was part of a heavily-rotated City side who lost 2-0 at home to Bayer Leverkusen on Tuesday evening, with manager Pep Guardiola making 10 changes from last weekend’s 2-1 loss at Newcastle United. As was the case at St James’ Park, the Blues had more than enough chances to win but, with Erling Haaland rested, were guilty of wastefulness.
City will be looking for a swift response to consecutive defeats when they host Leeds on Saturday, with Daniel Farke’s side spending their first week in the relegation zone following a 2-1 defeat at home to Aston Villa last time out. The Whites have lost five of their six away league fixtures so far and it doesn’t get much harder than a trip to the Etihad.
Guardiola will be expected to return to his first-choice line-up on Sunday which could see Reijnders back on the bench. But the Dutchman, who joined from AC Milan in a £46million deal over the summer, has sent a strong message to his teammates ahead of their meeting with Leeds.
“Unfortunately we didn't play very well, although we created enough chances but we could have done much better,” he told Manchester City’s website after Tuesday’s loss. “Getting two goals against us is hard of course. Leverkusen also played pretty well but two times they had a shot on target and two times they had a goal. We had to be more secure with our chances.
“Today was a day where it didn't want to go in. We have to keep confidence and be ready for the next game on Saturday. We have to be ready for Saturday, it’s a hard pill to swallow but we have to keep the confidence because we’ve shown a lot of games what we can do to get back on that winning track.”
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As tough a task as Leeds United could ask for
Leeds cannot expect City to be so wasteful on Saturday, particularly given the likelihood Haaland will return to the starting line-up. The Norwegian made a second-half appearance off the bench against Leverkusen, after which Guardiola insisted he cannot be relied on to play every available minute over the busy upcoming period.
Haaland will therefore be well rested going into Saturday, having scored 14 Premier League goals this season - three more than the entire Leeds team combined. The 25-year-old has been virtually unstoppable at home this season, scoring a ridiculous nine goals in six league appearances in front of his own fans.
That’s ominous reading for a Leeds side who have conceded 15 goals in six games on the road, including three each at Brighton and Nottingham Forest during their most recent outings. The odds are heavily stacked against Farke’s side going into the weekend but they will hope to pull off one of this season’s biggest shocks and club out of the relegation zone.
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