Leeds United – Sunderland: promoted sides clash, do the hosts have the edge? 
Tuesday night, Elland Road turns up the heat. For their second home game in a run of three, Leeds United welcome Sunderland. A genuine promoted-vs-promoted scrap in the Premier League — with one twist for the hosts: Daniel Farke will sit out the touchline duties from the stands.
Farke snapped this weekend after the narrow 1-0 loss to Manchester City, while the Black Cats were held 1-1 by Bournemouth.
Leeds United must swallow the frustration 
The Peacocks had warned everyone after nicking points off Chelsea and Aston Villa. Plenty fancied them to upset Man City, especially with Haaland missing. But Semenyo did the damage for Guardiola’s side. The goal hurt, and City’s time management wound Farke up so much he hauled off a straight red for protesting.
So the unbeaten run is over — Leeds United had gone four without defeat. No panic though. Their big winter fightback left them sitting on a comfortable six-point cushion over West Ham and the drop zone.
Since early December they’ve been steady: just three defeats in 16 outings across all competitions. The real sore spot? The defence keeps leaking. They’ve conceded in 10 of their last 11 matches. Tighten up at the back.
Sunderland can’t travel 
Last season in the Championship Leeds United finished 24 points ahead of Sunderland. Fast forward to the Premier League and the script has flipped — the Black Cats now sit six points above their hosts.
Regis Le Bris’s side are a bit off the pace right now. On Saturday they thought they’d done the hard part when Eliezer Mayenda put them ahead, but Evanilson dragged Bournemouth back level. That’s four matches without a win for Sunderland. European dreams are drifting further away, even if they’re still closer to the top four than to the relegation fight.
The real worry for the visitors is their dreadful away form. They haven’t won any of their last nine league trips (five defeats, four draws). Their last proper away scalp was back in October — that shock win at Chelsea.
To top it off, they can’t get the better of Leeds United — four meetings without a win against them since late 2023.
Likely lineups
Leeds United : Darlow ; Justin, Rodon, Struijk ; Bogle, Stach, Gruev, Ampadu, Gudmundsson ; Aaronson, Calvert-Lewin
Sunderland : Roefs ; Geertruida, Ballard, Alderete, Hume ; Xhaka, Sadiki ; Talbi, Diarra, Le Fee ; Mayenda
Football Prediction Leeds United vs Sunderland
Leeds United win
On paper, a draw would be a reasonable result. Three of their last four meetings ended in draws.
But right now Sunderland are running out of steam and their away-day phobia is a real handicap. With Elland Road set to be noisy to make up for the manager missing from the bench, Leeds United should exploit that nervousness on the road.
It’s the perfect chance for the home side to kickstart the season and take a big step toward safety.
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