After a thrilling 2-2 draw in the reverse fixture on Wednesday, Leeds United go into their second game without a manager and they look to build upon the impressive result against a top 4 likely Manchester United.
Erik ten Hag will be hoping for a different outcome in tomorrow’s game by overcoming his “Obvious” flaws from the previous fixture. The Man United manager identified that the many changes to the lineup which he had to make at Old Trafford on Wednesday were partially responsible for his Red Devils taking just one point away from the match.
Disruptions to the Dutchman’s squad saw the separation of Antony and Aaron Wan Bissaka as well as Fred and Casemiro, two duos which had become very effective for Manchester United in recent fixtures.
Meanwhile, Leeds’ temporary man in charge Michael Skubala and his coaching staff will be wanting to convert the one point they extracted away from home into three at Elland Road. The majority of Leeds’ points in the Premier League this season have been earned at their home ground. However, The Whites are certainly in for a tough test as Man United have 17 points away from home this season; just two shy of Leeds’ total tally.
It would not be a surprise if this game ends up being Skubala’s final game in charge of Leeds, as he has not been looking any further into the future than this game tomorrow. The U21 boss just wants “to do the best [he] can do.”
Team News
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Leeds United
Leeds were forced to make two substitutions before half time, in the previous game. The first was winger Luis Sinisterra, who was taken off just 8 minutes into the tie. It appeared to be a muscular injury for the Colombian and his presence tomorrow is still undecided.
Around 15 minutes later, Pascal Struijk made way for Junior Firpo. The centre back had a shot from Marcus Rashford blasted at his face, leaving him with a concussion. Struijk will not feature in tomorrow’s game.
There is a chance that Leeds fans could see the return of captain Liam Cooper into the team, as well as midfielder Marc Roca with both players expected return dates being tomorrow.
Rodrigo Moreno, Stuart Dallas and Adam Forshaw remain sidelined for the fixture.
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Manchester United
Since Wednesday’s game, Man United have not picked up any more injuries in training. However, there will be no players returning from the sidelines in time for tomorrow’s match.
The Red Devils will go into the game without:
- Anthony Martial
- Christian Eriksen
- Antony
- Scott McTominay
- Donny van de Beek
Luckily for ten Hag, Jadon Sancho looks to be back in and amongst the first team, following his goal in the previous fixture in just his second appearance since October. Sancho’s return will lighten the load of Manchester United’s injury problems.
Casemiro’s three game suspension, following his red card against Crystal Palace, means that he cannot be included in tomorrow’s Manchester United squad. Man United may possibly be looking to rotate with their Europa League fixture against Barcelona on Thursday looming.
Predicted XIs
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Leeds United
Meslier, Firpo, Wöber, Koch, Ayling, Adams, Roca, Gnonto, Harrison, Summerville, Bamford.
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Manchester United
De Gea, Malacia, Martínez, Varane, Dalot, Fred, Sabitzer, Rashford, Sancho, Elanga, Weghorst.
Key Players
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Leeds United - Wilfried Gnonto
The player who many people are labelling as one of the signings of the season for just £3.5m, Gnonto just needed one single minute to open the scoring for Leeds last Wednesday. After that, his impact on the game hardly dwindled.
He worked extremely hard to extract as much from the game for his side as possible and his confidence on the ball was just a joy to watch for Leeds fans, as he caused their rivals problems for the entire game. The 19-year-old also managed to win 3 tackles in the 89 minutes he played, which was more than what any member of the Man United defence could manage.
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Manchester United - Lisandro Martínez
The Argentinian’s exceptional form going into the match at Old Trafford earlier in the week was rather disrupted by what happened in the game. Although it was his centre back partner, Raphael Varane, who conceded an own goal, it was certainly a game to forget for Martínez too.
However, the type of game which you have to bring to Elland Road suits ‘The Butcher’ down to a tee. He will certainly bring physicality, toughness and defensive acumen to the game. Martínez usually has a habit of bouncing back from poor performances by having really strong showings in the games that follow.
Now that he has learnt what this Leeds side is about, Martínez will look to bounce back against United's fierce rivals.
Match Details
- Where is the game being played?
- What time is kick off?
14:00 GMT
- How can I watch it?
For viewers in the UK, the ‘dodgy Firestick,’ or other means of watching un-televised games will not be required. Unlike the last match, the game will be broadcast on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Premier League.