Leeds United welcome Manchester United to Elland Road in a fierce Super Sunday showdown.
Victory could see Leeds climb to 14th in the table, whereas a win would see Man Utd open a four-point lead over fifth-placed West Ham.
Team News
Junior Firpo could return for Leeds after recovering from a hamstring injury.
Stuart Dallas (unspecified) is a doubt but Liam Cooper, Kalvin Phillips (all hamstring), Patrick Bamford (foot), Leo Fuhr and Sam Greenwood (both knee) are absent.
Man Utd could welcome Nemanja Matic back into contention after the Serbian midfielder recovered from a shin injury, which kept him out of Tuesday’s win against Brighton.
Raphael Varane (illness) and Eric Bailly (ankle) are also set to feature but Thomas Heaton (groin) is ruled out.
Edinson Cavani (groin) and Mason Greenwood (personal) remain ruled out.
Stat Attack
- Leeds United are winless in their last six league meetings against Man Utd (D2, L4).
- Man Utd are unbeaten in four of their last five league visits to Leeds’ Elland Road (W2, D2, L1).
- Man Utd are yet to have a player sent off against Leeds in 27 previous Premier League meetings.
- No other European goalkeeper in the Premier League this season has made more punches than Leeds’ Illan Meslier coming into this matchweek, with the Frenchman having made 14 punches
- Eight of Cristiano Ronaldo’s nine league goals for Man Utd this season have been scored on his right foot.
Prediction
Having delivered a lacklustre performance in their loss at Everton last weekend in which they lacked energy and were defensively messy, Leeds now need to reset and rediscover their spark which was present in their aggressive draw at Aston Villa a week-and-a-half ago.
Man Utd meanwhile were clinical in their midweek win over Brighton but questions will remain of their defence, especially given that they had claimed three consecutive draws prior to that game so this will be a huge chance for them to open a gap in the top four race.
This is also the first league clash between these two teams at Elland Road in front of fans for nearly 20 years, which will add an air of edginess to this match as Leeds look to bring their aggressive attacking game against an inconsistent Man Utd team.
On that note, I expect both teams to be up for this game but if Leeds fail to sort out their defensive issues and bring more energy, this should likely be an away win.
Prediction: Leeds 1-2 Manchester United
Result: Leeds 2-4 Manchester United
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