Match preview: Leeds v United
Manchester United are back in Premier League action again on Sunday with a trip to Elland Road to face Leeds United.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Bruno Fernandes were on the scoresheet in that win over the Seagulls at Old Trafford and now our attentions turn to the first of two successive away games to come.
The trip to the Whites’ historic home will be our first in the Premier League with fans in attendance since October 2003, and it comes prior to the resumption of our Champions League campaign with a visit to Atletico Madrid, in the following midweek.
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HOW TO WATCH
Sunday’s game will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League for supporters in the UK. As always, there will also be pre-match build-up, live radio commentary and reaction after the final whistle on MUTV, along with rolling coverage for you to follow via ManUtd.com and our United App. The latter will include updates from the first whistle, in-game data and expert insight from our pundits.
Ralf Rangnick is expected to make the picture a little clearer when it comes to who will and who won’t be available for United this weekend during his pre-match press conference on Friday. Raphael Varane withdrew from the starting XI before the warm-up on Wednesday night due to an illness and our head coach is likely to provide an update on the Frenchman in his media briefing. Edinson Cavani and Nemanja Matic missed the Brighton game through injury and could potentially be in line for a return this weekend.
As for Leeds, Marcelo Bielsa is also set to conduct his press conference two days before the game. Liam Cooper, Junior Firpo, Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford all missed their loss at Everton last time out as they continue to recover from injuries, while Daniel James could be in contention to feature against his former club having started the Whites’ last five games across all competitions.
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FORM GUIDE
The hosts occupy 15th spot in the Premier League table and will be looking to add to their points tally this weekend. Bielsa’s side currently sit six clear of safety with a game in hand on 18th-placed Watford and have somewhat steadied the ship of late off the back of a challenging first half of the campaign, in which they won just four of their opening 19 Premier League matches. The Whites have lost just one of their last five outings in the competition, having started the year with victories over Burnley and West Ham, but that sole defeat did come in their last game, 3-0 at Everton.
United have also only had just the one league defeat in the calendar year – to Wolves – and are on a league run of six without a loss. The Reds climbed back into the top four following the midweek win over Brighton, breaking a run of successive 1-1 draws, with Burnley and Southampton.
HEAD-TO-HEAD
There has been a total of 110 Roses clashes between the two sides, with United winning 48, drawing 36 and losing the remaining 26. The Reds took the spoils in the reverse fixture on the opening day of the season, a 5-1 win at Old Trafford and are unbeaten in our three meetings since Sunday’s hosts returned to the Premier League in 2020. Leeds’ last triumph came in a 1-0 win in an FA Cup third-round tie at Old Trafford, back in 2010.
MATCH OFFICIALS
Sunday’s officiating team was confirmed on Wednesday morning and is as follows…
Referee: Paul Tierney.
Assistants: Lee Betts, Neil Davies.
Fourth official: Mike Dean.
VAR: Chris Kavanagh.
Assistant VAR: Adam Nunn.
RIVALS WATCH
Our game against Leeds is one of 14 fixtures in the Premier League’s matchweek 26, to be played over the coming days, with eight teams playing twice. Here is the fixture list in full…
SATURDAY 19 FEBRUARY
West Ham United v Newcastle United (12:30 GMT)
Arsenal v Brentford
Aston Villa v Watford
Brighton & Hove Albion v Burnley
Crystal Palace v Chelsea
Liverpool v Norwich City
Southampton v Everton
Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur (17:30 GMT)
SUNDAY 20 FEBRUARY
Leeds United v UNITED (14:00)
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Leicester City (16:30 GMT)
WEDNESDAY 23 FEBRUARY
Burnley v Tottenham Hotspur (19:30 GMT)
Watford v Crystal Palace (19:30 GMT)
Liverpool v Leeds United (19:45 GMT)
Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers (19:45 GMT)
All kick-offs are 15:00 GMT unless stated.