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Leeds United-Manchester City Preview: Dias Debut?

By J.C. Gonzalez

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 07: Aymeric Laporte of Manchester City during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg match between Manchester City and Real Madrid at Etihad Stadium on August 07, 2020 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Chloe Knott - Danehouse/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - AUGUST 07: Aymeric Laporte of Manchester City during the UEFA Champions League round of 16 second leg match between Manchester City and Real Madrid at Etihad Stadium on August 07, 2020 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Chloe Knott - Danehouse/Getty Images) /
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Manchester City return to Premier League action against newly-promoted Leeds United at Elland Road.

Manchester City will need a response following their embarrassing home start to the Premier League season with a 5-2 defeat to Leicester City. With Marcelo Bielsa and Leeds United proving that their swashbuckling football is perfectly capable of scoring goals in the top flight, the question is whether or not City’s crumbling defense can cope.

Leeds made their intentions very clear when they scored three goals at Anfield in their return to the Premier League, although they conceded four in last-gasp defeat. They showed no fear as they threw numbers forward and went right at the champions, although the tradeoff at the back proved to be their undoing.

They followed it up with back-to-back victories, with a 4-3 thriller over Fulham and 1-0 win over Sheffield United putting them in seventh place in the early table. Manchester City, on the other hand, are in desperate need of a result, as they trail Liverpool by six points despite only having played two rounds of matches.

The blueprint is there for how teams have consistently beaten City over the course of the last 13 months: sit deep, lull City into sideways passing, then break and score with devastating efficiency. Olympique Lyon knocked City out of the Champions League this way, Wolves grabbed six points from six last year by doing this, and Leicester grabbed five goals off three penalties by running at the City defense.

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Whether or not Leeds have the stomach to follow the blueprint is another question. Bielsa is a very principled man, and one Pep Guardiola has massive admiration for, so sitting deep is completely against his team’s DNA. Therefore, I believe they will pose a threat to the City defense, but will leave themselves open enough to remain vulnerable.

The crux of the game, however, lies in new City signing Rúben Dias. The team’s defensive savior could make his debut alongside the return of Aymeric Laporte as they look to put the demolition of last weekend behind them. If Dias can play, the possibility opens of getting Benjamin Mendy out of the left-back position following his struggles at Leicester, with Nathan Aké capable of playing there, but this is unlikely. The lack of Liam Delap in midweek could signal a start for the youngster, but I believe Guardiola will persist with Raheem Sterling in a central role. City need both of their star central defenders to play and be at their absolute best, and if their attack can be at peak form, they should be expected to get an away result in a tricky spot.

Predicted XI: Ederson (GK), Kyle Walker (RB), Rúben Dias (CB), Aymeric Laporte (CB), Benjamin Mendy (LB), Fernandinho (CDM), Rodri (CDM), Kevin De Bruyne (CAM), Riyad Mahrez (RW), Raheem Sterling (ST), Phil Foden (LW)