Matic: United fresh for Leeds fight
After a first full week of preparation this season, midfielder Nemanja Matic says Manchester United are ready to "fight" for three points against Leeds United on Sunday.
It's our first trip to Elland Road in a decade and our first league fixture at the Yorkshire ground since October 2003.
United have not played since last Sunday's 3-1 home win against Burnley. Throughout this season, the Reds have had a fixture, on average, every four days, with 52 games since September. It's been an intense campaign and Matic said the squad are happy to have had a chance to do some work on the training ground.
"We've had all week to train and to prepare," he told ManUtd.com.
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"The players look fresh. We are ready, well-prepared and happy that we have one more game to play against Leeds to show our qualities.
"We were just shown one interesting detail before training; since August 2019, we haven't had seven days to prepare for the game, we've always played mid-week. So it was nice to get fresh.
"It's a big game. We all know what this means for our supporters, and of course for their supporters. It's going to be very interesting to watch that. We go there to fight for three points."
Much of the talk going into Sunday's game is about the last meeting between the two sides, a 6-2 win for United in which Scott McTominay scored twice in the opening three minutes.
"Our last game, it was eight goals in that game, so we expect an interesting game again," Matic said.
"Of course we respect them a lot, we know that they are a good team, with a great manager, that they are also a big club. It's going to be very interesting for supporters and for us."
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The last time United were at Elland Road, Michael Owen scored a first-half double in a 3-0 win for United and a young French midfielder named Paul Pogba made his debut off the substitutes bench. Matic's midfield partner could make his 200th appearance for the club in the same stadium on Sunday. It's just one of many interesting storylines surrounding this weekend's fixture.
A win for United would be a sixth consecutive league victory for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's side and would see the Reds continue to put pressure on Premier League leaders Manchester City.