English Premier
2026-01-04 - Leeds United vs Manchester United
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Premier League
Sunday 4th January 2025 - Kick Off 12:30pm
This game is live on TV
Leeds United
There has been plenty to like from the Leeds United performances over the last month and they have deserved to put a little distance between themselves and the bottom three in the Premier League. Daniel Farke will accept that his team were second best in the game at Anfield on New Year's Day, but Leeds United showed resilience and character to earn another point against the defending English Champions and the confidence remains sky-high ahead of a huge game for the club and for the fans.
They may be 16th in the Premier League table, but Leeds United are 7 points clear of the relegation places and will be looking to build on that over the coming weeks. Home form remains incredibly important for Leeds United who have a 4-3-2 record at Elland Road where they have scored 17 goals and conceded 12.
Leeds United are unbeaten in 6 Premier League games, although it should be pointed out that 4 of those have ended in draws. Games at Elland Road have been where Leeds United have really been picking up serious points and they have won 3 of the last 5 League games played here, including thumping wins over Chelsea and Crystal Palace since the home defeat against Aston Villa.
Ethan Ampadu is suspended, which is a blow, while the likes of Sean Longstaff, Joe Rodon and Dan James are expected back later in the month. The manager made some changes to the starting eleven on Thursday and Dominic Calvert-Lewin is a leading name set to be restored into the first eleven in the early Sunday kick off.
Manchester United
Inconsistent results and performances have been a feature of the first half of the Premier League season as far as Ruben Amorim and Manchester United go, but that means there is plenty to achieve in the coming months. A return to the Champions League has to be the ambition for a club that is not involved in any European competition this season, but recent results have slowed momentum.
Despite those results, Manchester United are 6th in the Premier League table and level on points with Chelsea and just 3 points behind Liverpool in the top four. They travel across the Pennines on Sunday with a 3-3-3 record away from home where Manchester United have scored 15 goals, but conceded 16.
Manchester United have lost only 1 of the last 7 Premier League games, but the fixture list has not been the most difficult and the fact is they have not won consecutive games since the end of October. The most recent away game ended in a 2-1 loss at Aston Villa, but the side had beaten Crystal Palace and Wolves prior to that defeat.
A squad that has been hit hard by international call-ups and injury continues to be stretched. Mason Mount, Kobbie Mainoo and Bruno Fernandes are closest to returns, but manager Ruben Amorim hinted that none will be ready this weekend.
Head to Head
In the 2022/23 Premier League season, Manchester United took four points from Leeds United with the majority earned from a 0-2 win at Elland Road.
They are now unbeaten in 6 visits to Elland Road and Manchester United have been victorious on 5 of those occasions.
Prediction
The Leeds United fans will have circled this fixture as soon as the upcoming Premier League season schedule was released back in June and it should mean a fiery atmosphere at Elland Road, even in the early Sunday kick off slot.
That makes this a serious test for a Manchester United team that produced an incredibly flat performance in the 1-1 home draw with struggling Wolves on Tuesday.
They do have two extra days to prepare for this fixture compared with the hosts, but Manchester United are struggling without key personnel and they are going to need to show plenty of character this weekend. Ruben Amorim's team have been in decent away form, but were beaten at Villa Park most recently and there has to be a huge amount of respect for the Leeds United results and performances over the last month.
Daniel Farke had been under pressure, but has tweaked his system and that has seen Leeds United produce quality performances.
The manager has also been getting the best out of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, which is a huge boost for Leeds United in the bid to avoid relegation, and the home team have been scoring plenty of recent goals at Elland Road.
The expectation has to be that Leeds United will get forward and put Manchester United under pressure, while the away team will try and exploit spaces on the counter attack.
Money seems to be coming in for Leeds United who have moved from a narrow underdog to a narrow favourite, but it is hard to stomach suggesting them to win this important game.
Instead backing at least three goals looks like it could pay out- that number has hit in each of the last 7 home Leeds United games and the last 8 away Manchester United games.
Since December 2020, these two rivals have met 6 times in the Premier League and 4 of those have also ended with at least three goals shared out. Games at Elland Road have tended to be tighter, but an early goal on Sunday should spark this fixture into life with chances expected to be created at both ends.
The Statistics :
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The Pick :
Leeds United 2-1 Manchester United
