39 min: Foden comes in from the right and lashes diagonally across goal. Wide left, but not by much. This is turning into the entertaining end-to-end game we expected.
38 min: A corner on the left leads to a corner on the right. A quick game of head tennis leads to a City break, De Bruyne sending Sterling clear down the inside-left channel. Sterling over-elaborates, allowing Koch and Ayling to get back, the latter stealing the ball brilliantly.
37 min: A gorgeous Leeds move as Klich glides in from the right. Bamford takes up possession and flicks wide left to Dallas, who barges into the box and sees his shot turned round the post by Ederson. For a second, City were opened up.
36 min: Mendy is booked for a cynical trip on an in-flight Costa. A daft challenge, on the halfway line, with other City players in close attendance.
35 min: The rain is still sheeting down.
34 min: City crank it up, Foden sending Torres away down the right. His low cross is gathered well by Meslier, but there’s a sign that, no, City aren’t minded to make the same mistake again.
32 min: Mendy channels his inner Beckenbauer by striding through the midfield in regal fashion. He slips a pass down the left to release Sterling, but his team-mate has gone too soon. Up goes the flag, and Leeds breathe again.
31 min: Leeds have picked up their tempo, while City have reined themselves in. Shades of the Leicester narrative last weekend. They’ll not make the same mistake twice, surely.
29 min: Costa slips a ball down the right for Ayling, whose low cross is spilled by Ederson at the near post. The whistle goes as everyone swarms; turns out Ayling had run the ball out of play for a goal kick. But these are promising green shoots of recovery for Leeds, after an absurdly lop-sided start to this match.
28 min: Dallas and Phillips probe gently down the left. They go nowhere, but at least they’re getting a semblance of a foothold in the match now. They’ve had 52 percent possession during the last ten.
26 min: A little bit of Leeds possession. Time to check City’s momentum, take a breather, take stock. The hosts have been run ragged so far.
24 min: A rare Leeds sortie as Bamford powers down the inside left and whistles a fierce shot well wide left of goal. Ederson wasn’t worried, but small acorns and all that. Leeds just need to stay in the game right now.
23 min: On the touchline, Pep wears a worried frown. His standards are absurdly high ... like that’s breaking news. His team have been sensational.
22 min: Another attack, as De Bruyne robs Phillips and sends Sterling dribbling with great purpose down the left. He tees up Foden, who snatches at his shot and drags it well wide right.
21 min: But City keep coming at them. Sterling and De Bruyne combine down the left to win City’s fifth corner of the game. De Bruyne fires a flat cross towards Laporte, who flashes a header inches wide of the top left from 12 yards.
19 min: Leeds, to their credit, aren’t panicking. They’ve been making mistakes, sure, but they’re not panicking. Ayling, Koch and Cooper calmly play out of the back, under intense City pressure. Some admirable triangles as they live on the edge.
It’s fair to say this had been coming. Sterling takes up possession on the left-hand corner of the box. He drops a shoulder once, then twice, as he skitters across the face of the area. Then he curls an unstoppable shot into the bottom right. That’s a fantastic finish, and no more than City deserve. They’ve flown out of the blocks this evening.
16 min: Sterling jinks down the left, turning Ayling inside out, then cutting back for Torres, who shoots towards the bottom right with Meslier out of position. Dallas sticks out a leg and blocks on the line. This is brilliant stuff from City, who will be wondering how they’re not already a goal or two to the good.
14 min: But this is better from Leeds, as Ayling whips deep for Alioski, who heads powerfully over the bar. He should have got that one on target. He’ll be thinking he should have scored.
13 min: Leeds need to wake up quickly. Torres romps down the right and enters the box. Another shot; another block. It’s only a matter of time before City score the opening goal.
12 min: From the corner, Dias is gifted a free header six yards out. He should score, but heads wide left. Leeds clear upfield, where Bamford swings an arm into Laporte’s face. He’s booked for that one.
11 min: De Bruyne is given an absurd amount of time as he drives down the middle. He finally shoots, but probably took one or two strides too many, allowing Koch to stick out a boot and deflect wide right for a corner.
10 min: Sterling cuts in from the left and looks towards the far corner. His shot is blocked at source. City have enjoyed 72 percent of possession in this opening phase.
8 min: Leeds are chasing shadows right now. On the touchline, Bielsa is shouting at his troops with great feeling.
6 min: This is a supremely confident start by City, who will be in the mind to make a statement after last week’s shenanigans.
5 min: Two corners follow. From the first, Dias claims a penalty as his header twangs off Cooper at close range ... but the referee calls it correctly, the ball having bounced off the Leeds defender’s head. Leeds clear the second.
3 min: Leeds have hardly had a touch. Sterling is bowled over out on the left. De Bruyne curls in the free ki ... no he doesn’t! He opts to go for the top left, with everyone, especially Meslier in the Leeds goal, expecting the swinger to the far post. The ball caroms off the post and Leeds are able to hack out for a corner. Shades of Gary McAllister’s last-gasp winner for Liverpool at Goodison Park in 2001 ... except that one went in of course. But it was an equally brilliant bit of quick thinking. Inches to the right and that was nestling in the unguarded left-hand side of the net.
2 min: Rodri takes. Cooper clears. City take up possession again. De Bruyne slips a pass down the left channel for Sterling, who takes a touch inside and sends a curler, intended for the top-right corner, high over the bar.
1 min: City are on the front foot reasonably quickly. Mendy drives in from the left. Foden and De Bruyne combine to tee up Walker, whose weak shot is deflected out for a corner on the right.
City get the ball rolling ... but only after everyone takes a knee. No room for racism.
The teams are out! Leeds are in their world-famous Revie white, while City sport a fetching black second strip. It is absolutely hosing down at Elland Road, shades of San Mamés in 2011, when Bielsa’s Athletic Bilbao and Guardiola’s Barcelona shared the spoils in a four-goal thriller. More, please! We’ll be off in a minute.
Bielsa considers the style of his so-called former pupil. “I don’t see in Pep’s playing style any ideas that he’s taken from my playing style ... It’s not a good time to face them. When they face adversity, they’re stronger.”
Pep welcomes Ruben Dias. “He starts as soon as possible. He will adapt. Eric [Garcia] has some niggles in the hamstring and John [Stones] was out for ten days, so we didn’t have options. I think he has a good personality, a good header, good in the build-up, intelligent in movement. Do not forget he’s 23 and has time to improve.”
Marcelo Bielsa and Pep Guardiola meet again this evening, 14 years after the City manager made a pilgrimage to Argentina in search of knowledge. Jonathan Liew tells the story of one of football’s great enduring bromances.
Leeds United make just the one change from the side that won at Bramall Lane last weekend. It’s an enforced one: Jack Harrison is on loan from City and ineligible against his parent club, so Ezgjan Alioski takes his place.
Manchester City hand a debut to their new great defensive hope Ruben Dias. He’s one of three changes to the side thrashed by Leicester last Sunday. Aymeric Laporte and Ferran Torres are also in; Nathan Ake, Fernandinho and Eric Garcia make way.
Leeds United: Meslier, Ayling, Koch, Cooper, Phillips, Helder Costa, Klich, Dallas, Alioski, Bamford, Roberts.
Subs: Poveda-Ocampo, Llorente, Rodrigo, Struijk, Davis, Caprile, Shackleton.
Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Laporte, Mendy, Rodri, Mahrez, De Bruyne, Foden, Torres, Sterling.
Subs: Stones, Ake, Steffen, Bernardo Silva, Fernandinho, Delap, Palmer.
Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral).
Last season, Manchester City rebounded from the first loss of their campaign in spectacular style, following up a shock 3-2 defeat at Norwich by hammering Watford 8-0. Leeds United, fully aware that City had the back seat of their trousers handed to them neatly pressed by Leicester City last weekend, are permitted to take one long, loud, hard gulp. Nobody likes facing down a wounded lion.
Then again, Leeds are no Watford. The three-time champions of England, back in the big time after a ludicrously long hiatus, have immediately made their presence felt on the top division again. An unfortunate last-gasp 4-3 loss at the champions Liverpool was followed by a fingernail-bothering 4-3 win over Fulham and a staunch victory over local rivals Sheffield United. They’ve won 14 of their last 17 league matches, and under Marcelo Bielsa they’re unlikely to change their gung-ho approach for anyone.
So this promises plenty. City can’t be as bad in defence as they were against Leicester, surely, especially as they may name a fancy new centre-back pairing of Aymeric Laporte and Ruben Dias. And it’s not often that Kevin De Bruyne has two off-days in a row. But that won’t stop Leeds fancying their chances too: Patrick Bamford has three in three, while United’s overall total of eight goals matches the record for Premier League new boys after three matches, a total set by Bolton back in 2001.
City remain favourites to win, despite last weekend’s horror show. It wouldn’t be a total surprise if they posted another bounceback statement score. It also wouldn’t be a surprise if Leeds took their first big scalp post-return. Perfectly set-up, then. It’s on!
Kick off: 5.30pm BST.
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