Former Liverpool defender Mark Lawrenson took a dig at Kevin De Bruyne as he made his prediction for the upcoming Premier League clash between Manchester City and Leeds United on December 28. The Cityzens are set to make the trip to Elland Road for the highly anticipated clash.
Lawrenson predicted that Erling Haaland, the Premier League’s current top-scorer, will be licking his lips at the opportunity to take on Jesse Marsch’s team. Haaland has scored 24 goals in 19 games this campaign, including 18 in the Premier League in 13 games.
It took the Norwegian just about nine minutes to get back on the scoresheet as Pep Guardiola’s team returned to action against Liverpool in the Carabao Cup following the FIFA World Cup break.
Lawrenson also predicted that De Bruyne would be an important player during the game. However, he took a subtle jibe at the Belgian for his country’s group stage elimination from the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Here’s what he wrote in his prediction for Paddy Power:
“Erling Haaland will be champing at the bit and Kevin De Bruyne wasn’t at the World Cup for very long so Manchester City are in good shape. I’ll go 2-0 to City in this one, a straightforward win. Leeds will give a load of effort and application but no, no surprises here.”
Guardiola’s side are currently in second spot in the Premier League table with 32 points on the board from 14 games. They trail league leaders Arsenal by a margin of five points.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola provides a surprise update on Kalvin Phillips
Kalvin Phillips played only 40 minutes for England across two games in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. However, the former Leeds United man might not be in the Manchester City squad for the upcoming Premier League clash against his old team.
After his team’s 3-2 Carabao Cup win against Liverpool, Guardiola made a surprise admission about the player’s fitness, saying that the Englishman arrived overweight. Here’s what he said (via Mid Day):
“He’s not injured. He arrived overweight. I don’t know [why]. He didn’t arrive in the condition to do training sessions and to play. When he will be ready he will play, because we need him, we need him a lot.”
Phillips has had a difficult start to life at Manchester City. The midfielder is yet to start a game and has made only four appearances, playing a total of just 53 minutes.