Ahead of Saturday’s match against Manchester City, Raphinha gave his thoughts on the prospect of facing the current Premier League champions. 

The winger has been in fine form this season and is top of the goal-scoring charts for Leeds United, with 10 up to this point. 

With his side currently on a five match unbeaten run in the Premier League, Raphinha reflected on the recent result at Crystal Palace, stating that every point is important in the league table. 

He said: “I think it’s a really important point knowing our situation in the Premier League. 

“We knew before the [Crystal Palace] game it was going to be really hard. It’s a tough place to go to. We lost there last season 4-1 in what was a really tough game.  

“For us this season we knew it would be tough to pick up a win there. We wanted to pick up a win because we are in need of points but a point away from home is really important, as we try and stay up. 

“Every point we pick up between now and the end of the season will be vital.”

Next up it’s top of the table Manchester City for the Whites. The Brazilian wants to get rid of bad memories from the heavy defeat at the Etihad earlier in the campaign, by putting in a stronger performance this weekend.  

“The last game was really painful all the more so, because it was my birthday,” Raphinha explained.  

“I wanted to celebrate and have a happy day! After the game, I was annoyed for days, it’s not easy to lose, it’s definitely not easy to lose 7-0! I hate losing even if it’s video games or playing cards.  

“Losing as professional in that way was painful. That’s football, the best team wins, the most prepared team wins and scores goals. 

“When we face them this weekend we will need to defend well. We are working hard. We are focused on the game and we want to be able to get some points on the board. That is really important in our fight against relegation.”