Leeds vs Aston Villa LIVE: Result and reaction from Premier League fixture tonight
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Your support makes all the difference.Follow all the action as Leeds welcome Aston Villa to Elland Road in the Premier League this afternoon.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side are in high spirits after a dominant 3-0 victory against Southampton last time out, with Patrick Bamford adding a 13th league goal to his tally this season. That victory saw Leeds move 13 points clear of the relegation zone and they are now just five points adrift of sixth-placed Liverpool in what has been a brilliant first season back in the top flight.
Aston Villa, meanwhile, will be wary of succumbing to a slump in the absence of their talisman, Jack Grealish. The captain’s shin injury has seen him miss the last two matches, with Villa lucky to take a point against Brighton before losing against Leicester last weekend. Dean Smith’s side remain in a terrific position in the table, though, and a top-six finish is certainly within reach, trailing Liverpool by just four points while also boasting two games in hand. Follow all the action live below:
More from Pep
Pep Guardiola wants to emulate David Moyes’s ‘incredibly long career’
The two managers meet this weekend as the Hammers face the league leaders
Guardiola on City’s winning run
Pep Guardiola played down the significance of Man City’s 19-game winning run and claimed the focus for his side is always on the next match. He said:
The challenge is not to win 20, 21 - the challenge is to beat West Ham. The run is a consequence of what we do day-by-day.
“When you achieve what this club has achieved in four years - winning a lot of games - you have to have top players. You can win one title with average players to win many, you need top players.
“Of course I give credit to myself. The way we play belongs to us and being energetic and saying we can do better and sustaining it for a long time. But to do this you need good talents, top players.
“It’s a privilege to have just two days to play and win another game. The people who believe two days is too hard cannot be in this club. If one day we play the day after, we will. There is no tiredness. I demand it from myself and I demand it from my players too.”
Head-to-head
West Ham are winless in 11 games against Manchester City in all competitions since a 2-1 league victory at Etihad Stadium in September 2015. They’ve drawn twice and lost nine of those games.
The 1-1 draw in this season’s reverse fixture in October ended City’s nine-match winning run against the Hammers but Manchester City have scored in 19 successive league and cup games against West Ham.
Recent Results
Man City are undefeated in 26 games. It’s a run that stretches back to 21st Nov when they lost 2-0 away at Tottenham. During that time, they’ve drawn just three matches, against Man Utd and West Brom in the Premier League and against Porto in the Champions League group stages. They’ve won 19 consecutive games which is a record for an English top-flight team.
Excluding their defeat to Newcastle on the opening day of the season, West Ham have only lost five games in the Premier League this campaign and every defeat has come against ‘big six’ opposition. They’ve lost to Arsenal, Chelsea, Man Utd and Liverpool (twice). Back in October they held Man City to a 1-1 draw and defeated Tottenham 2-1 last time out. They’re fourth in the table and can open a five-point gap on Chelsea if they manage to beat Man City today.
Team news - Changes
Pep Guardiola makes seven changes to the starting XI that defeated Borussia Mönchengladbach in the Champions League on Wednesday. Only Ederson, Kyle Walker, Ruben Dias and Ilkay Gundogan keep their places. Sergio Aguero returns for his first Premier League appearance since the 3rd January.
David Moyes makes two changes to the team that defeated Spurs 2-1 last time out. Jarrod Bowen drops to the bench with Ben Johnson coming into the midfield and Darren Randolph replaces Lukasz Fabianski in goal.
Man City vs West Ham: Moyes on Guardiola
“I might draw a really bad analogy here,” Moyes said.
“Heston Blumenthal, who mixes chocolate with eggs or something stupid and outrageous. Pep is nearly the Heston Blumenthal of football.
“He does things where you think ‘that is never going to work, that’s not going to taste right or look good’.
“Pep does things in football terms which are remarkable. He is always looking for new ideas. He is innovative.
“I get this feeling he is in a think-tank room, thinking about how he can make his players perform better, or where they can receive the ball in space and make it so difficult for the opposition.
“That is how I look at Pep. I look at him in such high esteem. He has worked at clubs that have given him the chance to do that. But at the top clubs, the only way you keep your job is to win and he is doing a good job.
“He has done lots of things you would never dream of. Pep has done lots of things lots of people would not have thought of doing.
“Snail porridge? That’s what I’m talking about. It’s ridiculous. Full-backs going into midfield... he’s done things as a football coach which lots of people wouldn’t have thought of doing.”
Man City vs West Ham team news
The injured Nathan Ake will miss out for City again in defence, but Guardiola has no other injury concerns, with Sergio Aguero having come off the bench against Borussia Monchengladbach earlier this week as he returned from his latest fitness setback.
West Ham are still without defenders Arthur Masuaku, Angelo Ogbonna and Andriy Yarmolenko, but they are otherwise in good health.
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