Manchester City journey to Leeds United, aiming to sustain the impetus on Premier League frontrunners Arsenal in the championship pursuit.
The Citizens lag behind the Gunners by five points, even though they have contested one less match, yet that margin might shrink to merely two points should Pep Guardiola’s squad achieve a triumph at Elland Road.
Leeds, meanwhile, will be looking to make further strides to consolidate their place in the top flight next season.
Daniel Farke’s squad is currently six points clear of the relegation zone, positioned 15th; however, the hosts remain undefeated in their last four contests across all tournaments, and can boast stalemates against Chelsea and Aston Villa within that run.
Leeds United squad updates
Farke fields an identical starting eleven to the team that commenced the draw against Aston Villa last weekend.
Karl Darlow takes his place in goal, shielded by a defensive line comprising James Justin, Joe Rodon, and Pascal Struijk, with Jayden Bogle and Gabriel Gudmundsson offering width on the flanks.
Captain Ethan Ampadu partners Bulgarian international Ilia Gruev, Anton Stach, and Brenden Aaronson in the midfield engine room, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin spearheading the attack.
Noah Okafor is unavailable due to a hamstring ailment.
Leeds XI: Darlow, Bogle, Gudmundsson, Ampadu, Struijk, Rodon, Calvert-Lewin, Aaronson, Stach, Justin, Gruev
Subs: James, Longstaff, Piroe, Nmecha, Bijol, Tanaka, Bornauw, Gnonto
Manchester City player information
The significant revelation from the Manchester City camp is the unavailability of forward Erling Haaland, who is sidelined with an injury.
Rayan Cherki steps in for the Norwegian, featuring alongside Omar Marmoush and Antoine Semenyo upfront.
Jeremy Doku has rejoined training for City but will not begin the match, while Josko Gvardiol (shin) and Mateo Kovacic (ankle) continue to be absent.
Man City XI: Donnarumma, Nunes, Dias, Guehi, Ait-Nouri, Rodri, Bernardo, O’Reilly, Semenyo, Cherki, Marmoush
Subs: Trafford, Reijnders, Stones, Ake, Doku, Nico, Savinho, Khusanov, Foden
Viewing options for Leeds United v Manchester City: Television and internet broadcast
The match between Leeds United and Manchester City commences at 5:30pm on Saturday.
It will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League. The contest will also be accessible for streaming through Sky Go.
Statistics for Leeds United v Manchester City
- Leeds have suffered defeat in each of their last five Premier League fixtures against City, despite having lost only four of their initial 16 encounters with them in the competition (W7 D5).
- City have secured victories in their previous two away league games versus Leeds – they have only achieved three consecutive wins on the road once, doing so during their first three visits to Elland Road between 1924 and 1928.
- Since the commencement of December, Leeds have recorded more stalemates than any other Premier League side (8), with the Whites gaining a 1-0 advantage in three of their last four draws, all of which concluded 1-1.
- Since the 2017-18 campaign, City have conceded two or more goals in just three of their 52 Premier League matches against newly promoted teams – two of these occurred against Leeds (a 2-1 loss in April 2021, and a 3-2 win in November 2025) and the other was against Farke’s Norwich City in September 2019 (a 3-2 defeat).
- City have endured only one loss in their last 14 Premier League games when playing the day before Arsenal (W10 D3), which was a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle in November earlier this season.
- Since the start of the 2021-22 term, Leeds have maintained a clean sheet in only seven of their 43 Premier League contests when they have scored first – their sole two clean sheets of this kind this season saw them go 1-0 up in the 84th (vs Everton) and 90th (vs Fulham) minutes; when establishing a 1-0 lead in the first half, Leeds have conceded in each of their last 21 matches since a 3-0 victory against Chelsea in August 2022.
- Leeds-born forward Haaland notched two Premier League goals during his last visit to Elland Road in December 2022 for City, though he has not found the net in his two home games against Leeds. No visiting player has scored two or more goals in consecutive Premier League visits to Elland Road.
- Nico O’Reilly has registered a goal in each of his last two Premier League outings for City. The last City player to score in three consecutive matches before reaching the age of 21 was Foden in June/July 2020.
- Three of Anton Stach’s four Premier League goals have come directly from free-kicks, with only Ian Harte in 2000-01 (4) ever scoring more in a Premier League season for Leeds. He is the first player to net three in his inaugural 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 debut season (5).