Man City vs Leeds LIVE: Premier League result and final score
Man City 2-1 Leeds: Ilkay Gundogan scored twice but Rodrigo’s late goal made it a nervy ending for the Premier League leaders
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Hard-charging Manchester City went four points clear of Arsenal at the top the Premier League on Saturday, beating Leeds United 2-1 with a pair of near-identical goals from Ilkay Gundogan, stretching their winning league run to 10 games.
City’s prolific striker Erling Haaland graciously handed the ball to Gundogan to take a penalty kick in the 84th minute for what would have been a hat trick, but Leeds keeper Joel Robles had no trouble turning aside his shot.
City had run circles around Leeds with numerous excellent scoring chances before Gundogan struck in the 19th minute from the edge of the 18-yard box off a pass from Riyad Mahrez. Mahrez teed up Gundogan again eight minutes later in a carbon copy of his first goal.
Rodrigo Moreno pulled one back for Leeds in the 85th minute.
With four games left, Pep Guardiola’s side have 82 points to Arsenal’s 78, and if the Gunners lose to Newcastle on Sunday City will have all but locked up an illustrious third consecutive title. Leeds, playing their first game under interim manager Sam Allardyce who was parachuted in in a last-ditch effort to avoid relegation, are teetering in 17th place - and all three teams below them have a game in hand.
Relive the action as Manchester City defeated Leeds, which is followed by Liverpool vs Brentford:
Man City vs Leeds - the return of Sam Allardyce
Today also sees the return of ‘Big Sam’ to the Premier League. The 68-year-old hasn’t been seen in the dugout since May 2021 after he left his role as manager of West Brom. He was unable to keep them up that season but the Leeds hierarchy will be hoping for a different outcome this time around with just four games to go.
One thing is for sure, he certainly is confident:
Sam Allardyce claims he’s as good as Guardiola and Klopp: ‘Nobody ahead of me’
Sam Allardyce claimed he is as good a manager as Pep Guardiola, Jurgen Klopp and Mikel Arteta as he was unveiled as the new Leeds boss on Wednesday. “I might be 68 and look old but there’s nobody ahead of me in football terms,” the former England manager said. “Not Pep, not Klopp, not Arteta. So it’s all there with me... they do what they do and I do what I do.” Allardyce, who will take charge of Leeds until the end of the season, has been tasked with keeping them in the Premier League. Click here to sign up for our newsletters.
Man City vs Leeds - starting line-ups
We’ll have to wait until the teams come out but it’s most likely that 18-year-old Rico Lewis will partner Gundogan in the centre of midfield, fulfilling the role that John Stones has done so well these last few months.
For Leeds, the big note is the return of Joel Robles in goal. Meslier has endured a tough couple of weeks in between the sticks but today’s game will be Robles’ first start in the Premier League since May 21st 2017 when he played for Everton in a 3-1 defeat to Arsenal.
The Spaniard signed for Leeds in the summer from Real Betis and has only started a couple of cup games this season.
Man City vs Leeds - starting line-ups
A few changes for both sides then.
Guardiola, perhaps with an eye on the Real Madrid game on Tuesday, makes seven changes. Ederson comes back in for Ortega in goal while Laporte, Lewis and Akanji come into defence replacing Dias, Walker and Stones. Rodri, Silva and Grealish also move to the bench with Foden, Gundogan and the returning De Bruyne starting for City.
Allardyce makes four changes as he names his first Leeds line-up. Robles starts in goal as Meslier is moved to the bench while Firpo and Wober start in defence instead of Cooper and Koch. The final change sees Forshaw come into central midfield with Summerville dropping to the bench.
Man City vs Leeds - starting line-ups
Man City XI: Ederson, Lewis, Akanji, Laporte, Ake, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Mahrez, Foden, Alvarez, Haaland.
Man City subs: Ortega, Walker, Dias, Phillips, Stones, Grealish, Rodri, Silva, Gomez.
Leeds XI: Robles, Kristensen, Wober, Firpo, Ayling, McKennie, Forshaw, Roca, Harrison, Bamford, Gnonto.
Leeds subs: Meslier, Koch, Aaronson, Summerville, Rodrigo, Stuijk, Rutter, Greenwood, Gray.
Elsewhere in the Premier League
We have three other 3 pm kick-offs today alongside Man City vs Leeds.
Tottenham look to bounce back after their agonising 4-3 last-minute defeat against Liverpool as they host Roy Hodgson’s Crystal Palace. A win today would move Ryan Mason’s side up into sixth before Brighton’s game on Monday.
Aston Villa sit a place below Spurs but on the same amount of points as they look to regain momentum in their title charge after a 1-0 loss to Manchester United. They travel to Wolves who need one more win to reach 40 points and essentially guarantee Premier League safety.
And finally, on the south coast, Bournemouth host Chelsea with Frank Lampard still searching for his first win since his return to the club as caretaker manager after Graham Potter’s sacking.
Why is Man City vs Leeds on TV today?
Manchester City’s Premier League match against Leeds United is still set to be broadcast on television despite being moved to a 3pm kick-off on a Saturday.
The fixture, originally scheduled for Sunday May 7, has been brought forward a day because of City’s first-leg Champions League semi-final clash against Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Tuesday May 9.
The clash was scheduled to be shown on Sky Sports and that remains the case despite it now being in the Saturday afternoon blackout period.
Why is Man City vs Leeds on TV today?
An extreme set of circumstances have prompted the relaxing of the blackout subject to consultation with stakeholders
Man City vs Leeds - predicted lineups
We should have team news in around 20 minutes but here are the predicted starting XI’s. City face Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday so Pep Guardiola may have one eye on that with his team today.
Today is Sam Allardyce’s first game in the Leeds dugout, but with little time on the grass with his new team, the veteran manager may opt against wholesale changes from Leeds’ last game.
Manchester City Predicted XI: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Ake; Stones, Rodri; Foden, Gundogan, Alvarez, Grealish; Haaland.
Leeds Predicted XI: Meslier; Ayling, Koch, Wober, Firpo; Roca, McKennie, Forshaw; Summerville, Rodrigo, Gnonto
Man City vs Leeds early teams news
Kevin De Bruyne has missed Manchester City’s last two games but is expected to return to the squad. Pep Guardiola opted to rotate a little against West Ham, but Ederson should return in goal and Phil Foden could press for a first start since returning from a medical procedure.
Sam Allardyce’s fresh eyes could prompt changes for Leeds, who remain without Luis Sinisterra, Stuart Dallas, Liam Cooper and Tyler Adams. The new manager has also said that there are a few niggles with which to contend.
Man City vs Leeds
Odds
Manchester City win 2/11
Draw 8/1
Leeds win 18/1
Prediction
Sam Allardyce should immediately tighten Leeds up defensively, but Manchester City should still win in relative comfort. Manchester City 2-0 Leeds
Man City vs Leeds
Manchester City vs Leeds is due to kick off at 3pm BST on Saturday 6 May at the Etihad Stadium in Manchester.
How can I watch it?
Viewers in the United Kingdom will be able to watch the game on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League, with coverage from 2pm BST. Subscribers can stream the game via the Sky Go app.
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