Preview: Leeds United vs. Manchester City – team news, lineups, prediction, live stream

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.

While scoring in seven of their last eight competitive and non-competitive contests can be viewed in a positive light, failing to keep a single clean sheet in 11 successive games can not, and only five of the hosts’ 17 Premier League games at Elland Road this calendar year have ended in victory.

Not since beating Arsenal in 1999 have Leeds managed to get the better of the reigning English champions on home soil, and former Red Bull Salzburg coach Marsch will be all too aware of the indomitable powers held by Man City’s Yorkshire-born star striker.

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.

Leeds impressively prevented Man City from winning either of their two fixtures in the 2020-21 Premier League season, but the champions put a whopping 11 past the Whites last term, storming to a 7-0 Etihad success before recording a 4-0 triumph at Elland Road just eight months ago.

First-choice goalkeeper Illan Meslier is recovering from glandular fever and is one of a number of doubts alongside Patrick Bamford, Crysencio Summerville, Rodrigo, Liam Cooper, Jack Harrison and Mateusz Klich, although the latter is apparently close to a move to MLS side DC United.

Bamford is considered the least likely of Leeds’ injury doubts to be passed fit for Wednesday, where Norway’s Kristoffer Klaesson will make just his second Premier League appearance in goal if Meslier is not ready to return.

Other World Cup representatives such as Ederson, Kyle Walker, Joao Cancelo and Bernardo Silva ought to make their returns to the starting lineup for Man City, while Phil Foden and Jack Grealish will battle it out to start on the left before Alvarez returns to stake his claim for regular minutes.