Sam Allardyce has returned to the Premier League with the mission of inspiring an immediate upturn in Leeds' form but surely that could not start with his new team getting anything against the champions in waiting, could it? Allardyce's new side conceded more goals in April (23) than any Premier League club ever has in one month, Manchester City won all bar one of their nine matches last month and are seemingly destined for an unassailable lead at the top of the table.
Still at least it can't be as bad for Leeds this season as it was last, when they lost 7-0 at the Etihad Stadium. Can it? Here is how you can watch the match and what you need to know:
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Viewing information
- Date: Saturday, May 6 | Time: 10 a.m. ET
- Location: Etihad Stadium, London
- TV: USA | Live stream: fuboTV (free trial)
- Odds: Manchester City -800; Draw +800; Leeds +1600 (via Caesars Sportsbook)
Storylines
Manchester City: What new worlds are there for Erling Haaland to conquer after he broke the Premier League's scoring record (previously set by Andrew Cole and Alan Shearer in 42 game seasons) with five games left to spare? The esoteric remain within reach -- Haaland needs four goals on Saturdays to beat Mohamed Salah's return from 2017-18 -- but so too the sort of tallies that were supposed to be unreachable. In 1927-28 Dixie Dean scored 63 across all competitions, Haaland needs 12 in what could be 10 games to match that.
Haaland insists he is not thinking about Dean's mark but he will surely have something special in mind as he takes on his hometown club. He might be a Norway international but Haaland is a Yorkshire native, born when father Alfe Inge was playing for Leeds. The last thing the Whites need to run up against is an extra motivated Haaland.
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Leeds: It is a curious situation Allardyce finds himself in. With just four games to go, all of them varying shades of extremely difficult, the 68 year old might feel that he cannot really lose much in terms of his standing. If Leeds go down there simply was not the time for him to change things. If they survive -- something which may come down to the failings of others as much as his own achievements -- then the legend of Allardyce grows.
Certainly he did not betray any lack of confidence in his abilities when he was unveiled on Wednesday. "Far too many people think that I am old and antiquated which is far from the truth. I might be 68 and old but there's nobody ahead of me in football terms. Not Pep, not Klopp, not Arteta," Allardyce said. Pep Guardiola even agreed with that assessment; Leeds fans may also in a few weeks' time if he turns one of the league's worst defenses into something capable of achieving survival.
Prediction
Allardyce simply will not have had the time to do anything that can even slow City down. This could be a brutal start to life at the Leeds helm. PICK: Manchester City 4, Leeds 0
