Pep Guardiola says Manchester City will ‘SUFFER’ against Marcelo Bielsa’s ‘special’ Leeds – as he backs £100m record-signing Jack Grealish to come good after scoring just once so far
- Pep Guardiola says City must be ready to ‘suffer’ against Leeds on Tuesday night
- Marcelo Bielsa’s side are regarded as one of Man City’s ‘toughest opponents’
- Jack Grealish has been underwhelming since signing for £100m last summer
- Former Barcelona manager backs British record signing to come good for City
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola believes his team ‘will have to suffer’ against Leeds on Tuesday night, and backs £100m signing Jack Grealish to come good for the Citizens.
The Premier League leaders host the Yorkshire side on Tuesday night in a must-win game, as the race for the title already begins to take shape.
The former Bayern Munich manager does not think this will be an easy task, and has warned his players about the ‘unique way’ Marcelo Bielsa’s side play.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola says his team ‘will have to suffer’ against Leeds United
Gabriel Jesus (right) experiences Leeds’ ‘unique way’ of playing during their 2-1 defeat last year
Speaking ahead of the game, Guardiola said: ‘Leeds are one of our toughest opponents.
‘They play in a special unique way and we play against this special unique way just two times a year.
‘We have to adjust a few things because they are different to other opponents. We are not much used to these type of games. We know we will have to suffer.’
After returning to top-flight football for the first time in sixteen years, Bielsa’s side took four points from a possible six in their encounters with City last season.
Jack Grealish has just one league goal since making his British record transfer last summer
In the same press conference Guardiola said he expects nothing more from Jack Grealish, and believes the midfielder will be on the scoresheet soon.
Guardiola said: ‘He has to do exactly what he is doing, no more than that. The rest will come.
‘He has chances to score two or three goals every game and one day he is going to do it.’
Since signing from Aston Villa last summer, Grealish has contributed just one goal and two assists in the league for Guardiola’s champions.
Pep Guardiola (left) has backed £100m signing Jack Grealish (right) to get back to his best
The Spanish manager also gave an injury update on the rest of the squad ahead of the fixture on Tuesday.
City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan, who was substituted early in the second half of Saturday’s hard-fought win over Wolves, has been passed fit to feature.
‘Except for Ferran (Torres), everyone is fit,’ Guardiola said.