Leeds United vs Sunderland Premier League preview, team news and prediction

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Leeds United , without manager Daniel Farke on the touchline, play host to Sunderland on Tuesday night in the second of three consecutive home games—a meeting between two newly-promoted Premier League sides. Farke will serve a touchline ban after being shown a straight red card for his post-match outburst following Leeds’ narrow 1-0 defeat to Manchester City on Saturday. That loss came just hours after Sunderland were held to a 1-1 draw away at Bournemouth.

Leeds had been tipped by many to trouble Manchester City, especially with Erling Haaland sidelined through injury, having recently taken points off both Chelsea and Aston Villa. However, Antoine Semenyo stepped up for City, scoring the only goal at Elland Road and handing Pep Guardiola’s men all three points. Farke’s frustration with the officials—reportedly over perceived time-wasting by City—boiled over, earning him a red card from referee Peter Bankes and ruling him out of the dugout for the Sunderland clash.

Despite seeing their four-match unbeaten run come to an agonizing end, Leeds remain six points clear of West Ham United in the relegation battle, a testament to their impressive turnaround since the onset of winter. Saturday’s defeat marked just their third loss in 16 matches across all competitions since December, though defensive frailties linger—Leeds have conceded in 10 of their last 11 games, only managing a clean sheet against Fulham.

Last season, Leeds finished 24 points ahead of Sunderland in the Championship, but the Black Cats now arrive at Elland Road with a six-point cushion over their hosts in the current Premier League standings. Regis Le Bris’s side could have widened that gap to eight points last weekend when Eliezer Mayenda opened the scoring at Bournemouth, but Evanilson’s late header secured a draw for the Cherries.

While Sunderland snapped a three-game losing streak in the league with that point, a fourth match without a win has dented their hopes of a European push. Nevertheless, they remain closer to the top four than to the relegation zone in terms of points. Their away form, however, remains a concern—Sunderland are winless in their last nine Premier League away games, with five losses and four draws since their shock victory over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in October.

When these two sides last met, they played out a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light in December, extending Sunderland’s winless run against Leeds to four matches. The Black Cats’ last victory in this fixture came in December 2023, when Jobe Bellingham scored the decisive goal.

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Leeds currently enjoy a wealth of options when it comes to team selection, with Noah Okafor their only injury absentee as he continues to recover from the hamstring issue he suffered in the FA Cup. He is expected to be out for a couple more weeks. After pushing Manchester City to the limit on Saturday, the suspended manager Farke may opt to stick with the same starting XI, provided none of his players are dealing with excessive fatigue.

However, if Farke decides to rest the injury-prone Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Lukas Nmecha is available as an alternative up front. In midfield, Ao Tanaka and Sean Longstaff are both contenders to replace Ilia Gruev, who had a disappointing performance in the previous outing.

For Sunderland, the situation remains unchanged on the injury front, as manager Le Bris reported no new issues following Saturday’s draw with Bournemouth. However, there are no returns from the treatment room either, meaning the team will continue to be without Dennis Cirkin (thigh), Reinildo Mandava (knee), Romaine Mundle (thigh), Brian Brobbey (groin), Nordi Mukiele (calf), and Jocelin Ta Bi (ankle). These absences particularly limit Sunderland’s options out wide.

Captain Trai Hume will likely have to deputize at left-back again, while Bertrand Traore and Nilson Angulo could both be considered to take Chemsdine Talbi’s spot in the attack.

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