Leeds v Man Utd: Prediction, team news, lineups and odds
Leeds may have lost their unbeaten record at Arsenal last weekend but they came away from the Emirates with heads held high after giving the Gunners a real scare in a narrow 2-1 defeat.
For their fierce rivals across the M62 it was more a case of heads bowed after a 2-0 away loss to Atletico Madrid on Tuesday. That followed on from a 1-1 home draw with 10-man Tottenham, confirming that Manchester United had made their worst start to a league season in 40 years.
Although the two played out a 1-1 draw at Elland Road last season, that proved the final straw for Ruben Amorim who managed just 25 wins in his 63 matches in charge. A league table since that game taking into account the rest of last season and the start of this (have a play here) would show Leeds in seventh – a fair reflection of their improvement over the last 10 months under Daniel Farke.
Leeds v Man Utd kick-off time
Leeds v Man Utd kicks off at 2pm BST on Sunday, October 18 at Elland Road.
Leeds v Man Utd: how to watch
The game will be shown live in the UK via Sky Sports Main Event, with coverage starting from 1pm.
BBC Radio 5 Live will provide full match commentary.
Leeds team news
Leeds are waiting on the fitness of Dan James after the winger came back from Wales duty with a back problem and missed Saturday’s defeat at Arsenal. Farke has given no timescale but James could still be involved against his former club.
Defender Joe Rodon remains out with the hamstring injury he picked up against Brentford in the second game of the season. The Welshman isn’t expected to be back in full training until next month.
After shaking off a quad problem, Harry Wilson is in contention to return after being an unused sub against Arsenal.
Man Utd team news
Michael Carrick is sweating on Luke Shaw and Kobbie Mainoo for Sunday’s trip after both picked up knocks/strains in Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Tottenham and stayed behind for Tuesday’s loss in Madrid.
Benjamin Sesko has missed the last two games with a recurrence of a shin problem and Carrick has no timeframe for his return.
Patrick Dorgu is out until late November with a hamstring injury while Manuel Ugarte is still recovering from knee surgery.
Noussair Mazraoui is a doubt with a back problem but Matthijs de Ligt is in the frame again after travelling to Madrid. Leny Yoro’s red card against Atletico only carries a Champions League ban so the Frenchman is available.
Leeds v Man Utd odds
For the first time in Premier League history, Leeds go into a match against Manchester United as favourites.
The Whites are 7/5 to bank all three points while Man Utd are 7/4. The Draw is 5/2.
Despite the odds for this one-off game, Man Utd (5/4) are way shorter than Leeds (6/1) for a top five finish.
Leeds v Man Utd prediction
All things being equal, Leeds will never have a better chance to beat their bitter rivals.
They’re in far better form, overcame a psychological hurdle when winning 2-1 at Old Trafford last season – their first Premier League victory over the Red Devils since 2002 – and have the resources to win the battle in midfield.
But then there is this stat: since beating Chelsea 3-0 in August 2022 in a Sunday 2pm kick-off, Leeds United have gone 20 Premier League games without a win in games kicking off before 3pm (D7 L13) – the longest ever run by a side in Premier League history.
A weird quirk? Do the players know this? Was it because they were playing top sides as most of those games would have been on TV?
It slightly throws a spanner in the works when thinking that Leeds are a must bet and, after all the shenanigans with Lisandro Martinez’s criticism of the Man Utd hierarchy after the Atletico loss, maybe the visitors really put in a shift here.
Those time slot and Man Utd bounceback angles (they actually played okay in Madrid and should have scored at least two) lead me to the draw at 5/2.
Noah Okafor scored both Leeds goals in the 2-1 triumph at Old Trafford last season and the Swiss forward was also on target in the 4-1 win over Newcastle a couple of weeks ago. Back him at 5/2 to bag another and wheel away in celebration once more.
As Mick McCarthy noted, nothing can be ruled out in this game. So how about the ‘would you believe it!’ irony of a goal for Lisando Martinez. The disgruntled Argentine, who netted against Sabah in the Champions League earlier this season, is 18/1 to score anytime.
