Liam Cooper returned to action in the win against Sheffield United last weekend and the defender is relishing the competition in defence, as his side prepare to face Manchester City.

The trip to the Etihad Stadium this weekend will see the Whites face Pep Guardiola’s outfit, who are currently fighting to take home four titles this season. 

“Some people call us crazy, but we go to win the game, that’s what we’re renowned for,” Cooper explained, ahead of the match.  

“We had a good result against them at our place. Obviously they’re a completely different animal now, but they’ve been unbelievable, all credit goes to pep and their players, they’ve been unbelievable all season. 

“We will go there to try and win the game, enjoy it, take in the occasion and enjoy just testing yourself against the best players in the league and we look forward to that.”

Leeds United’s captain is looking forward to the competition in the backline, with Marcelo Bielsa being able to pick from a number of options in defence for the first time this season. 

“I’m a big believer that it’s only healthy for us,” Cooper stated. 

"We’ve got four unbelievable centre-halves chomping at the bit to play. A German international, a Spanish international, me and Pascal all going for those two positions. 

“You’ve got to apply yourself and train hard every day and do what the manager asks and play well when called upon.

“There’s no ego’s or anything like that, there’s no bad feelings when we don’t play, we just push each other to be the best we can and long may that continue.”