Sam Allardyce has urged his Leeds United squad to play without fear when coming up against Manchester City striker Erling Braut Haaland in Saturday's Premier League clash at the Etihad Stadium.
The 68-year-old was announced as the new Whites boss on Wednesday and has returned to management after nearly two years away following the dismissal of Javi Gracia.
Allardyce has just four games to try and steer Leeds away from danger, with the West Yorkshire side currently sitting 17th in the Premier League table and hovering just above the relegation zone on goal difference.
A daunting trip to the Etihad is up next for the Whites, who lost 3-1 against Man City on home soil earlier this season and head into Saturday's contest with the league leaders as huge underdogs.
The Citizens' rise back to the Premier League summit has largely been aided by the goalscoring excellence of Norwegian striker Haaland, who broke the record for the most goals ever scored in a single season after netting his 35th of the campaign in the 3-0 win over West Ham United on Wednesday.
Haaland, who scored two of his 35 Premier League goals in the victory over Leeds in December, has found the net 51 times in total across all competitions this season and still has a minimum of eight games remaining to attempt to match of better the all-time single-season scoring record of Dixie Dean (63) achieved back in 1927-28.
Allardyce, a central defender in his playing days, has admitted that he would have struggled to cope with the physical presence of Haaland, but he has outlined a plan for his Leeds side that he hopes can reduce the 22-year-old's threat in the final third.
Speaking at a press conference on Friday, Allardyce said: "You have to be strong enough to deal with [Haaland], because he can use his body weight brilliantly, as well as his talent and his skill.
"I am more interested in supply. If you can cut the supply down more first, and limit the amount of time the ball does come to him, we will have a better chance of dealing with it.
"I am not sure I could have marked Haaland when I played and I was one of the most physical players in the league."
Allardyce added: "To the players who are there in close proximity [to Haaland] – don't play with fear, play with a positive attitude.
"Do your job, if you can just stop him scoring a goal you don't need to do anything else in that game on Saturday. You don't need to contribute in any other way, just stop him scoring and you will have had a fantastic game.
"Manchester City function much more differently now up front than they did when they didn't have one [a striker]. They have had to change from no striker to not just the biggest goalscorer in the league but also one of the biggest players."
Leeds have conceded the most goals (67) in the Premier League so far this season, including 18 goals shipped in their last five matches, with a 4-1 defeat at Bournemouth last weekend bringing an end to Gracia's brief stint in charge.
Allardyce, meanwhile, enters Saturday's clash having lost each of his previous three Premier League meetings with Pep Guardiola by an aggregate score of 13-1, all with different clubs (Crystal Palace, Everton and West Bromwich Albion).
Defeat for Leeds at the Etihad could see them drop into the relegation zone if 18th-placed Nottingham Forest were to pick up at least a point against Southampton on Monday and if 19th-placed Everton were to beat Brighton & Hove Albion. body check tags ::
