Manchester City’s mission to dethrone Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table resumes Wednesday, as the champions take on Leeds United at Elland Road.
Pep Guardiola’s side are five points adrift of the table-topping Gunners at the time of writing, while the Whites entered the World Cup break in 15th with a coincidental 15 points.
Leeds starlet Crysencio Summerville exhausted his injury-time powers just before domestic football went on hiatus for the World Cup, as the Dutchman bagged last-minute winners against Liverpool and Bournemouth before Jesse Marsch’s side returned to losing ways.
An EFL Cup exit at the hands of Wolverhampton Wanderers preceded another seven-goal thriller for Leeds. However, they came out on the wrong end of a 4-3 scoreline against Tottenham Hotspur on November 12 to leave them dangling just two places above the relegation zone in 15th place.
The man born in Leeds now aims to dampen the festive cheer around Elland Road upon his return to West Yorkshire, and a well-rested Erling Braut Haaland will give no thought to the sentimental value of a meeting with the club his father proudly wore the colours of.
It took the scintillating Scandinavian all of 10 minutes to return to his scoring ways in Man City’s EFL Cup fourth-round fixture with Liverpool last week, where further goals from Riyad Mahrez and Nathan Ake cancelled out strikes from Fabio Carvalho and Mohamed Salah to see Guardiola’s side advance to the last eight courtesy of a 3-2 win.
