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2021/22 English Premier League
Matchday 17
Manchester City v Leeds United
Etihad Stadium
Manchester, England
Tuesday, 14 December 2021
Kick-off is at 21h00
Manchester City will be hoping to turn the tide against Leeds United when they lock horns in a
Premier League encounter at the Etihad Stadium on December 14.
The Citizens have not fared well against the West Yorkshire outfit in recent times, losing 2-1 in the corresponding fixture last season after being held to a 1-1 draw at Elland Road towards the back-end of 2020.
Their biggest win since the turn of the millenium came in the FA Cup fifth round when City ran out convincing 4-0 victors on the way to reaching the final in 2013.
It was revenge for being dumped out of English football's famous cup competition by the Whites 13 years prior following a 5-2 scoreline at their old Maine Road ground.
Leeds have the upper hand in the Premier League era, losing just four times since its inception in 1992 and racking up seven wins, with the two teams sharing the spoils on five occasions.
Things are far more even in head-to-head meetings overall - City edge Leeds with 45 victories to 43, while 18 games have ended in draws.
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The ever-hectic festive period has arrived and Pep Guardiola is looking forward to the most challenging part of the campaign, when teams are required to play three matches in the space of a week.
"It's good, it's historic. I like to play in the winter during this period," Guardiola said. "My words are not going to change anything.
"When you have just two days rest in the Christmas time and New Year there's no time for players to recover. We discuss this every year and nothing changes, so we adapt, adjust and pray the players will not get injured.
"The players have the ability to stretch their limits as much as possible. That's what they have to do."
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Leeds have a tricky run of fixtures ahead of the New Year, with Arsenal and Liverpool their next two opponents, but head coach Marcelo Bielsa insists his players have the desire to takes points off the bigger clubs.
"Each of the games we are going to come up against, we face teams where points are at stake," Bielsa said.
"Whether that be drawing or winning, we will prepare ourselves with a lot of hopes. The hopes and desires are increased because they are very big opponents.
"To be able to get points in those games has added value. We're going to go into each of these games with desire."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Man City - 1
Leeds - 2
Draws - 2
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