Leeds United news as Whites midfielder sends 'no fear'…

Leeds United news as Whites midfielder sends 'no fear' message ahead of Man City clash

Here are the latest Leeds United morning headlines on Thursday, 22 December 2022.

Greenwood on City

Sam Greenwood has insisted Leeds United have no 'fear' heading into next week's game against Manchester City at Elland Road. The Whites could not have asked for a more difficult match to return to following the World Cup break as City look to build some momentum in the title race.

Leeds were beaten by a combined aggregate score of 11-0 by City last season but have picked up some good results against the 'big six' so far this term, including wins over Chelsea and Liverpool. Speaking ahead of the game, Greenwood claimed that there is belief in the squad Leeds can get a positive result.

Via MEN, he said: "Anytime is for me, if we all believe we can win. For me they are the best team in the world. If you go out there with no fear and you get Elland Road on your side, we’ve proved we can play against the top teams. We've got a lot of results against them.

"So, for me, we just need to go out there and show a desire and determination and believe that we can get the three points."

Maric on Monaco defeat

Leeds United were hit with an outbreak of illness heading into their final warm-up game ahead of the return to Premier League action. The Whites were comfortably beaten by Ligue 1 side AS Monaco in a second-half capitulation.

Despite taking the lead in the first-half, the visitors scored three goals inside nine minutes to race clear of the Whites at Elland Road. It was a worrying sign for the onlooking Leeds fans, with Manchester City and Erling Haaland their first game back in action after the World Cup break.

When asked about the second-half collapse, assistant boss Rene Maric said: "First half, we started on it from the beginning. We missed that in the second-half. How you move, react, at such a high level, a split-second earlier, faster, the space they don't get. Defending a lead by staying proactive and aggressive."

Talking points

The missing line-up

It’s a sad indictment of Leeds United’s performance and the general apathy around friendlies that Wednesday’s biggest headline revolved around absent players. There was an entirely different starting line-up of senior faces missing from the matchday squad.

Stuart Dallas and Luis Sinisterra are well-known as long-term injury cases, but the other nine were all supposed to be in and around the playing squad by the time the Premier League returned. They have another week to recover, but many of them are badly lacking in minutes before arguably the world’s best club side arrives in town.

Post-match, Rene Maric remained quietly confident about most of them being in contention for the City match after some illness had been going around the squad. Illan Meslier was named as one he was hopeful about, despite that troublesome bout of glandular fever.