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2022/23 English Premier League
Matchday 17
Leeds United v Manchester City
Elland Road
Leeds, England
Wednesday, 28 December 2022
Kick-off is at 22h00
Defending champions Manchester City will attempt to get their Premier League title challenge back on track when they travel to Leeds on Boxing Day.
The Citizens went into the World Cup break five points behind Arsenal in second place after closing out the first half of the season with a surprise 2-1 defeat to Brentford on November 12.
It was the second loss of the campaign for Pep Guardiola's side, who were beaten just three times on their way to winning their fourth title in five years last term.
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A large chunk of City's squad was on duty at the 2022 World Cup and Guardiola is hoping to have some of those players back for the clash in West Yorkshire on Wednesday, December 28.
"At the moment, we have four or five players, and we will have to wait and see how the others come back," the Spaniard said.
"Some players are coming back now and in the next few days and step by step, they will re-join their team-mates here. People are coming back soon. Nathan [Ake], Aymer [Laporte], and Rodri, and later the players from the England and Portugal teams."
The Whites were denied a third win on the spin when Rodrigo Bentancur scored two goals in the space of two second-half minutes to clinch a dramatic 4-3 triumph for Tottenham before the World Cup break.
Back-to-back victories over Liverpool (2-1) and Bournemouth (4-3) prior to that had lifted Jesse Marsch's team out of the relegation zone and they missed out on the chance to close with one point of the top 10.
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Marsch has been buoyed by the performance of his players despite their struggles this term but acknowledges they need to stay in control of matches when they're on top.
"Obviously, I always try to look at the positives and I really like a lot of the things that we're able to accomplish and certainly the men in the team," the American said.
"But it's just a lot of moments when we're in control of matches, we can't seem to stay on top of the match."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Leeds - 2
Man City - 2
Draws - 1
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