Leeds vs Man City LIVE: Premier League result and final score as Erling Haaland hits a brace
The Premier League’s top goalscorer Erling Haaland starts as Manchester City look to close the gap on leaders Arsenal
Erling Haaland continued his incredible season in front of goal with a double to help Manchester City cruise to a 3-1 victory at Leeds United on Wednesday, ensuring the champions closed the gap to Premier League leaders Arsenal to five points.
The visitors had a hosts of chances in the first half, with Haaland twice denied by fine saves from home goalkeeper Illan Meslier, while England forward Jack Grealish blazed two efforts over from good positions.
It appeared City would go into the interval frustrated, before Spanish midfielder Rodri finally made one count in first half stoppage time, firing home after another Meslier save.
Back in the city of his birth, where his father was a player for Leeds, Norway international Haaland effectively put the game to bed early in the second half with a simple finish, before taking his league tally to 20 for the season in the 64th minute.
Pascal Struijk gave home supporters faint hope of a comeback as he headed home with 17 minutes left, but it was always going to be a consolation against City in this mood.
The victory helped second-placed City move back to within five points Arsenal at the top of the standings, while Leeds stay 15th, two points clear of the relegation zone.
Leeds vs Man City
Leeds United’s final two league games before the World Cup were a 4-3 home win against Bournemouth and a 4-3 defeat at Tottenham. They came back from 3-1 down versus the Cherries and were ahead three times at Spurs before losing.
What do Jesse Marsch’s men have in sotre for us tonight?
‘Overweight’ Kalvin Phillips warned over Manchester City return by Pep Guardiola
Pep Guardiola has revealed he dropped Kalvin Phillips because the midfielder came back from the World Cup overweight and has told him he will not play for Manchester City again until he is in the correct shape.
The 27-year-old was a notable absentee from City’s 3-2 Carabao Cup win over Liverpool when Guardiola named other members of England’s World Cup squad – John Stones, Kyle Walker, Jack Grealish and Phil Foden – on the bench and brought three of them on.
And Guardiola has said the summer signing was not in the right condition to play as he told him to lose weight.
“He’s not injured,” he said. “He arrived overweight. I don’t know [why]. He didn’t arrive in the condition to do training sessions and to play.”
‘Overweight’ Kalvin Phillips warned over Man City return by Pep Guardiola
The England midfielder was omitted from the City squad for the 3-2 win over Liverpool with his manager uncertain when he will return
Leeds vs Man City
Manchester City scored 11 goals without reply against Leeds last season, winning 7-0 at home and 4-0 at Elland Road.
If they triumph tonight they will win three consecutive league matches versus Leeds for the first time since a run of four from 1980 to 1983.
Man City looking to ‘hit ground running’ as they resume title defence at Leeds
Manchester City have ground to make up as they resume their Premier League title defence with a trip to Leeds United on Wednesday.
The champions went into the World Cup break trailing leaders Arsenal by five points – a gap that has increased to eight following the Gunners’ Boxing Day win over West Ham.
City returned to action with an upbeat performance in a 3-2 win over Liverpool in the Carabao Cup last week and now hope to maintain the momentum.
Man City looking to ‘hit ground running’ as they resume title defence at Leeds
Pep Guardiola’s champions are eight points behind leaders Arsenal
No Foden for City?
Some early reports speculate that Manchester City will start tonight’s match without Joao Cancelo, Kyle Walker, and Phil Foden. The official team news will be dropping in around half an hour so it’ll be interesting to see how Pep Guardiola lines up his team.
Leeds vs Man City prediction
A tricky return to league action for Pep Guardiola’s team, who have tended to struggle up against an energetic Leeds team in the past.
Yet the selection issues the hosts have - coupled with City’s squad depth - means Jesse Marsch’s side will be firmly up against it this time round.
Leeds 1-4 Manchester City.
Leeds vs Man City predicted line-ups
Leeds: Klaesson; Kristensen, Cooper, Koch, Struijk; Roca, Forshaw; Aaronson, Rodrigo, Harrison; Gelhardt
Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Stones, Akanji, Cancelo; Gundogan, Rodri, De Bruyne; B. Silva, Haaland, Foden
Leeds vs Man City early team news
Leeds goalkeeper Illan Meslier should be fit enough to start after a recent bout of glandular fever but Tyler Adams is suspended after his red card against Spurs before the World Cup break.
Manchester City’s Ruben Dias is out for a month due to a hamstring injury, while Kalvin Phillips will not feature due to concerns over his fitness.
Julian Alvarez is also missing from the squad after being given time off to celebrate Argentina’s World Cup victory.
How to watch Leeds vs Man City
The game will be played at 8:00pm (GMT) on Wednesday 28th December at Elland Road.
This match will be shown live on Amazon Prime Video. That means while it’s not on a terrestrial or digital TV channel, it can be streamed via any TV or device which has access to the Prime Video app or desktop website.
If you’re not an Amazon Prime Video subscriber start a free 30-day trial here. We may earn commission from some of the links in this article, but we never allow this to influence our content. This revenue helps to fund journalism across The Independent.
Leeds vs Man City
Good evening and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of tonight’s footballing action as Leeds host Manchester City in the Premier League.
Jesse Marsch’s are looking to rediscover the form that saw Leeds defeat Liverpool and Bournemouth in back-to-back games a couple of months ago. Those wins propelled them up the table and his given the club a two point cushion to play with as they look to avoid relegation. Their last outing before the World Cup break was a heated 4-3 loss to Tottenham but Leeds put in a spirited performance and will need to do the same against Man City tonight.
Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola’s men are hoping to close the gap on Arsenal back to five points but they’ll need a victory this evening to do so. Dropped points at this stage of the competition could prove crucial in the Premier League title race a few months down the line. City got their domestic campaign back underway with a 3-2 Carabao Cup win over Liverpool last time out and will be hoping to replicate that performance against Leeds.
Kick off for this game is at 8pm and we’ll have all the build-up, team news and updates from Elland Road.
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