Manchester City vs Leeds United

Manchester City will be looking to remain on the upwards trajectory when they take on Premier League strugglers Leeds United at the Etihad Stadium.

A controversial second-half penalty converted by Raheem Sterling handed Manchester City a hard-earned 1-0 win over a spirited Wolverhampton side at the weekend. Now owning an eye-catching six-game winning run in the Premier League, the ‘Citizens’ enter this round as the pacesetters, one point clear of second-placed Liverpool. Except for a shock 2-0 home loss to Crystal Palace in late October, Pep Guardiola’s men have gone unbeaten in their remaining seven Premier League matches at the Etihad this season (W6, D1), conceding just once in those fixtures while scoring 18 in return. Notably, Man City have tallied a whopping 499 goals in 206 league outings under Guardiola’s reign, meaning another strike here would see the Spaniard become the quickest-ever Premier League manager to navigate his side to a 500-goal landmark.

Though they failed to keep Man City at bay in both last season’s Premier League H2Hs, Leeds United avoided defeat on each occasion (W1, D1), including a 2-1 victory in this exact fixture back in April. The ‘Whites’ have now kept City winless in four consecutive Premier League H2Hs (W2, D2) since losing 2-1 at Maine Road in January 2003. However, Marcelo Bielsa’s men have been a shadow of their former selves this term, especially away from home. Barring a 2-1 win at relegation-threatened Norwich City in late October, Leeds have won none of their remaining seven Premier League travels this season (D3, L4). The signs are ominous for the visitors, as they’ve picked up just two triumphs in their last 20 Premier League matches against teams starting the day top of the table (D9, L9). Encouragingly, though, one of those two successes came at the expense of Man City last season.