Manchester City will be without their currently #1 on the depth chart striker, Gabriel Jesus, for the trip to Elland Road to face Leeds United on Saturday. So, who else will be missing out for this crucial league clash? City did advance to the next round of the Carabao Cup in midweeke, beating Burnley 3-0 on Wednesday.
It was a surprisingly important win as they definitely bounced back from a 5-2 defeat at the hands of Leicester City last weekend. They will now look to continue their momentum here, but will come up against a tough team in Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds.
As we mentioned at the top, City manager Pep Guardiola will be without Gabriel Jesus, who has a muscular problem. Raheem Sterling played as the striker in cup competition and could do so on Saturday again. With Sergio Aguero a long term injury absentee, City are now down to their third choice at the position. For the MCFC starting XI prediction go here.
There are more injury issues, especially in defence, with both John Stones and Oleksandr Zinchenko set to miss out this weekend. Joao Cancelo is long term injury absentee, compounding the problems. This all means that we could see a debut for new signing Ruben Dias, who recently arrived from Benfica.
Despite the injury concerns, the Citizens have enough quality in their team to get a win here. They can send out a strong side that can match up to the challenge of Leeds. Dias, who has been very impressive during his time in Portugal, can use this game to impress his manager and instantly make a mark.
Leeds have made a good start to their Premier League campaign after having lost the opening match to Liverpool. They have since gone on to win two in a row, and they will be relishing the challenge that City present here.
One player who won’t be able to contribute, however, is their exciting winger Jack Harrison. The youngster is on loan from City and as per the Premier League rules, will not be able to play against his parent club. This promises to be a very intriguing battle, tactically, as two astute managers go up against one another. Manchester City will need to win to keep pace with Liverpool and Guardiola will expect nothing less than all three points from this one.