Erling Haaland Out, Cherki Returns to Start
Erling Haaland has been ruled out of today’s match against Leeds United, as our Norwegian top scorer isn’t fully fit for the trip to Elland Road. In his place, Rayan Cherki comes back into the starting XI, while Jeremy Doku makes a welcome return on the bench.

Team News
City: Donnarumma, Nunes, Dias, Guéhi, Ait-Nouri, Rodrigo, Bernardo (C), O’Reilly, Semenyo, Cherki, Marmoush
Subs: Trafford, Reijnders, Stones, Ake, Doku, Nico, Savinho, Khusanov, Foden

Leeds United: Darlow, Bogle, Justin, Rodon, Struijk, Gudmundsson; Stach, Ampadu, Gruev, Aaronson; Calvert-Lewin
Subs: Perri, Bornauw, Bijol, Longstaff, Tanaka, James, Gnonto, Nmecha, Piroe

Tactics and Formation
Pep Guardiola may adjust tactics following Leeds’ challenges from their November clash at the Etihad. Gigio Donnarumma starts in goal, with Matheus Nunes and Rayan Ait-Nouri at right and left back. Ruben Dias and Marc Guéhi will anchor the defense, while Rodri, Bernardo, and Nico O’Reilly form the midfield trio. Up front, Omar Marmoush will lead the line with Cherki and Antoine Semenyo supporting.

Leeds’ Resurgence
Leeds have shown significant improvement since the November meeting. After falling 2-0 behind at the Etihad, manager Daniel Farke switched to a two-striker formation, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin along with Lukas Nmecha scored to level the game before a late Phil Foden winner. Since then, Leeds have only lost two of 14 Premier League games and are now a formidable opponent. City will need to navigate both a strong team and a passionate Elland Road crowd to maintain pressure on Arsenal.

Stats and Facts

• Leeds have lost their last five league games against City, though only four of their first 16 matches against us ended in defeat (W7 D5).
• City have won the last two away games against Leeds; only once have we managed three consecutive wins at Elland Road (1924–1928).
• Since December, Leeds have drawn more games than any other Premier League side (8), often going 1-0 up before being pegged back.
• City rarely concede 2+ goals to newly promoted teams; the last exceptions were against Leeds (April 2021, November 2025) and Norwich (September 2019).
• Leeds haven’t lost a league or play-off match at Elland Road after 5pm in their last 25 games (W20 D5) since April 2023.
• City play the day before Arsenal; in such fixtures, we’ve only lost once in the last 14 league games (W10 D3).
• Leeds have struggled to keep clean sheets after scoring first; only two clean sheets this season when leading, both late in the game.
• Erling Haaland scored twice at Elland Road in December 2022 but hasn’t netted in his two home games against Leeds; no player has scored 2+ goals in consecutive Premier League trips to Elland Road.

Next at the Etihad – City v Nottingham Forest
City host Nottingham Forest at 19:30 (UK) on Wednesday, 4 March. Tickets are on sale now, starting from £43 for adults and £23 for under-18s. Hospitality packages are also available from £199, with experiences for every budget.