These are the latest Leeds United stories on Friday, April 29.
Guardiola on 'important' Leeds clash
Leeds United face Manchester City at Elland Road on Saturday, in a game that the Whites could badly do with picking up points in as they look to put more space between themselves and relegation danger. However, the game is vital for City as well, with the Premier League title race closely fought between them and Liverpool.
Pep Guardiola's side have the issue of having to negotiate the second leg of a Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid on Wednesday evening, as well. City's boss was clear in his pre-match press conference that focus would remain on the Whites though.
"It always is [tough] when I play with Leeds," he said. "Last season we dropped five points with Marcelo. Jesse Marsch did an incredible job in Salzburg and of course in the United States before. And in Leipzig, it wasn't the perfect place for him, for the culture, that Salzburg style, the gegenpressing, for him to do many things that right now many teams in England play that way.
"So I have a lot of respect. Because it's in between the Champions League semi-final, it's the most important for the position that we're going to play, the most important game that we have.
"Because after Madrid where we're in the Champions League final or not, we have just four games to focus on the Premier League. We spoke a lot about that. They know exactly, they saw it today, we spoke about what a special team they are for the way they play but we accept the challenge and we know exactly what we have to do and we are going to try and do it."
Raphinha details what Marsch has brought to Leeds United
Raphinha has given an interview to Sky Sports ahead of Saturday's fixture. In it, the Brazilian spoke positively about how the team has been invigorated by the arrival of Marsch, which has seen the team pick up 11 points in their last five fixtures.
"He came into the club at a difficult time, we're still in a tough position but he's brought our belief back. Even before he arrived he knew the players, what we had to offer as individuals and what we could achieve as a team. We've had some bad luck this season, but I think we will stay up."
Guardiola may be forced to repeat mid-week solution
Guardiola also revealed in his press conference that both Kyle Walker and John Stones would be unavailable for Saturday's match through injury. Joao Cancelo on the right, with Oleksandr Zinchenko on the opposite flank is the obvious solution the the selection problem but - considering that they will likely be the options Guardiola goes with against Madrid on Wednesday - Guardiola may be forced into another solution so as not to risk losing another right back.
In Tuesday's victory over Madrid, Fernandinho was utilised as an auxiliary right back. The Brazilian picked up an assist as he overlapped and crossed for Phil Foden to extend City's lead to 3-1. However, he badly struggled to deal with the pace of Vinicius Jr and could prove a weak point for Leeds to target, should Guardiola take that option on Saturday.
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