ENGLISH PREMIER BETTING PREVIEW - LEEDS UNITED VS SUNDERLAND

English Premier

2026-03-03 - Leeds United vs Sunderland

A Sports Betting Preview by Auls

Leeds United v Sunderland
Football: English Premier League
Tuesday 3rd March 2026 - Kick Off 7:30pm
This game is live on TV

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Leeds United

Daniel Farke was far from happy with some of the officiating in Leeds United's 0-1 home loss to Manchester City on Saturday, but the manager has to be very happy with the efforts his players continue to put forward. On another day they would have earned a point from that fixture, but it is another game ticked off the schedule and none of the relegation rivals in and around Leeds United could take advantage of the home defeat.

They remain 15th in the Premier League table and 5 points clear of West Ham United in the bottom three as the likes of The Hammers, Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest were all beaten this weekend. The side have a 6-4-4 record at Elland Road where Leeds United have scored 22 goals and conceded 19.

Leeds United have not won any of the last 4 games in all competitions in normal time, but draws with Chelsea and Aston Villa in the Premier League will have been seen as positive results. The top two have both won at Elland Road over the last month, but Leeds United have beaten Fulham and Nottingham Forest around those defeats.

Noah Okafor is set to miss out, but the squad is looking healthy in the main.

Sunderland

The return of Granit Xhaka sparked a positive performance from Sunderland, but they were hanging on at the end of the 1-1 draw at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday. Another point on the board means Sunderland are once again sitting above Newcastle United in the Premier League table, which is a huge boost for the supporters, and Regis Le Bris will be happy with a result this past weekend that snapped a poor recent run of form.

The Black Cats are now 12th in the Premier League table and 6 points behind the top seven positions which may come with European Football attached, but this has been a season of overachievement. After the result this past weekend, Sunderland hold a 2-5-7 away record in the top flight where they have scored 7 goals and conceded 21.

Sunderland have won 1 of the last 6 Premier League games and they had suffered 4 losses in that run before the 1-1 draw with Bournemouth. The run of 3 away Premier League defeats in succession was also ended in that fixture at the Vitality Stadium on Saturday.

Reinildo and Dennis Cirkin are edging closer to a return, but Nordi Mukiele, Romaine Mundle and Brian Brobbey could be out until after the March international break.

Head to Head

Sunderland and Leeds United drew 1-1 at the Stadium of Light in December.

Leeds United had not won any of 5 home games against Sunderland and had been beaten 4 times in that run.

They were 0-1 behind in February 2025 when both teams played in the Championship, but Leeds United fought back for a 2-1 win.

Prediction

When the fixture list was released in June 2025, these two promoted clubs may have looked at this game in March and wondered if it was going to be a pivotal battle in the bid to avoid relegation.

Both Leeds United and Sunderland have been better than expected or hoped at this stage of the season, although the points remain much more valuable to the home team.

On a weekend where five of the bottom six were beaten, Leeds United will be frustrated that their efforts were not rewarded in the 0-1 defeat to Manchester City. Daniel Farke was not very happy with some of the officials, but he will have been proud of his team and a similar level could make Leeds United very difficult to contain.

They are facing a Sunderland team who showed some resiliency in the 1-1 draw with Bournemouth on Saturday, although the underlying numbers did suggest they were a touch fortunate.

Regis Le Bris won't be concerned about that and he will be happy that Sunderland snapped losing runs in the Premier League both overall and away from home.

However, the manager will be aware that this is going to be another difficult test for his Sunderland team against a Leeds United team that play with pace in the final third.

At Elland Road Leeds United have really found the atmosphere to their liking and this is a team that can overwhelm opponents.

Like the preview said on Saturday, the home team are going to likely need two goals to beat a Sunderland team who can sit in and look to counter late on. Recent defeats for Sunderland have come in games where they have struggled to contain the attacking threats for long enough and that has seen them concede a fair few goals.

Leeds United have shown they can create enough chances to do that here and the home team can beat Sunderland by a similar scoreline to when the teams met twelve months ago in the Championship.

The Pick :

Leeds United 2-1 Sunderland

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back Leeds United to Win & Over 1 Total Goal (Bet Builder) at 2.40 with Bet365 (early payout if a team is leading by two goals)