While Leeds United have been working on their own training camp out in Spain during the winter break and the ongoing World Cup in preparation for their Premier League return against Manchester City on December 28, their opponents haven't had such a luxury.
A majority of Pep Guardiola's side have been in Qatar for nearly a month now but after another round of World Cup action, only one Manchester City star remains in the tournament after Portugal, England and the Netherlands were all knocked out in the quarter-final stage.
Sixteen senior team players from the Citizens arrived in Qatar - the most of any European side bar Bayern Munich - in mid-November to begin their campaigns but Julian Alvarez is the sole survivor from the squad as he and Lionel Messi try to win Argentina's first World Cup since 1986.
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The results in the quarter-finals mean that ten stars including Phil Foden, Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo and Nathan Ake will all be returning back to England soon, giving City much more time to prepare than they could've had if all three sides had progressed to the semi-finals.
City only had two players with group stage exits after formidable midfield duo Kevin De Bruyne of Belgium and Germany's Ilkay Gundogan both leaving the tournament early, with Switzerland's Manuel Akanji also being knocked out in the round of 16.
Jack Grealish, Kalvin Phillips, John Stones and Kyle Walker will all join Foden back in Manchester after England's 2-1 loss to France on Saturday night, while Bernardo Silva will return with Portuguese teammates Dias and Cancelo.
Brazil's Ederson will also fly back to England soon after being stuck on the bench behind Liverpool star Alisson and Spain duo Aymeric Laporte and Rodri were knocked out in the round of 16 in a shock upset to Morocco.
Leeds United also had representation of their own at the tournament, with USMNT duo Brenden Aaronson and captain Tyler Adams leading the charge into the round of 16 before they were knocked out by the Dutch.
Denmark's Rasmus Kristensen couldn't carry his good form into the tournament however as they were knocked out as bottom of Group C after losses to Australia and France.
Wales winger Daniel James also couldn't make the difference for his country as they scored just once in their return to the tournament after a 64-year absence following losses to England and Iran.
It's not clear how the Whites will play in their return to Premier League action but after four incredibly close matches, including two big wins over Liverpool and Bournemouth, the tide could be turning on Jesse Marsch and Leeds' season.
The question remains though if they have enough to deal with City stars who haven't been at the tournament, including the likes of goal-scoring extraordinaire Erling Haaland whose Norway missed the cut in Group G of the qualifiers.
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