Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has put his side through a double training session this week in preparation for their meeting with Leeds United.
Leeds host the four-time Premier League Champions this evening at Elland Road looking to continue a fine start to the season.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side have been box office from the get-go, picking up six points from three fixtures.
It’s been a different story for City, which seemingly has Guardiola demanding more from his players.
As Bielsa and Guardiola prepare to go up against each other for the first time in England, The Athletic has detailed stories about the pair’s admiration for each other.
Additionally, it has been documented that Guardiola has put his City side through a double training session on Friday – the first time that’s happened in his four years with the club.
The extract from The Athletic read:
The Athletic has been told that City’s last training session before their visit to Elland Road was a double session — the first time Guardiola has done that in four years as City’s manager.
Last time out, City lost 5-2 to Leicester at the Etihad just hours after Leeds had put their second win of the season on the board against Sheffield United.
It’s a big compliment to Leeds that Guardiola is putting City through double sessions in preparation to face them.
That could be down to Bielsa’s tendency to ‘run teams into the ground’, as Guardiola knows all about from his time in Spain.
However, it could also be down to the fact that things are not quite right with City at the moment.
They were woeful in defence last week against Leicester, whilst their win over Wolves on the opening day wasn’t convincing; electric for 45 minutes, but slack in their game management of the 3-1 win.
Leeds have started well and deserve respect. Guardiola will give them that and it remains to be seen how successful his ‘double session’ has been.