Riyad Mahrez serves up big Leeds United praise in Man City warning for Elland Road

Defending Premier League champions City are already back up and running after the World Cup break thanks to a 3-2 victory at home to Liverpool in Thursday night's fourth round Carabao Cup tie. Mahrez netted City's second goal to sink the Reds and is now setting his sights on the league restart but with plenty of respect for Leeds ahead of Wednesday night's game under the lights. The 31-year-old has also warned his side that they cannot afford a slow start upon the season's resumption if they are to once again finish top of the tree.

"Leeds are a big club and it's a hard place to go but we know what to expect from them," said Algerian international forward Mahrez to mancity.com “We will be prepared for it and hopefully we can come away with the three points."

Mahrez added: "We have to hit the ground running. We are not currently top of the Premier League and that is where we want to be. We will take it game by game but our aim is to try to win another title. There are lots of strong teams in England who could still win the league so we are not just focused on Arsenal, although they have been very good so far. If we want to win the league, we will have to be ready as soon as the league starts again."