Leeds United will be looking to bounce back from defeat at the weekend when they host Sunderland on Tuesday at 7:30pm.
Daniel Farke’s men were beaten by Manchester City on Saturday, extending their winless league run to three matches, drawing the other two.
Leeds predicted lineup vs Sunderland
Leeds (5-4-1): Darlow; Bogle, Struijk, Bijol, Bornauw, Gudmundsson; Stach, Gruev, Ampadu, Aaronson; Calvert-Lewin.
The Whites remain 15th in the Premier League with 10 games left to play, sitting six points clear of the relegation zone. They’re in inconsistent form right now, having alternated between wins and not winning in their past five league matches.
Leeds’ defeat to Man City at the weekend ended their unbeaten home league run in games to have kicked off after 5pm. But they are still unbeaten in their past 22 home evening matches to have kicked off at 7pm or later.
Leeds team news vs Sunderland
Farke named an unchanged starting XI for the games against Aston Villa and Man City. But the quick turnaround between games could see a few changes made for the visit of Sunderland. One of the differences will be Farke himself, with the German suspended after his post-match red card at the weekend.
Joe Rodon came off against Man City with a suspected hamstring issue, though scans have shown it wasn’t as bad as first feared. The Welshman is expected to be available for selection, but Farke might use this as an opportunity to rotate Jaka Bijol in.
James Justin is also a slight doubt. He was on the receiving end of a bad tackle and had to be stitched up. Farke is hopeful that Justin will be available though, again, he may not want to take any risks. Noah Okafor is the only guaranteed absentee.
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Should Justin fail to make it, Sebastiaan Bornauw could come in to replace him. Those may be the only changes we see.
Farke has a settled starting XI now, with Ilia Gruev and Ethan Ampadu the central midfield duo. Anton Stach and Brenden Aaronson have been favoured on the wing, though Wilfried Gnonto and Daniel James will be hoping to benefit from rotation.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin will lead the line, ahead of Joel Piroe and Lukas Nmecha.
Leeds’ worrying blip
Leeds had their chances to beat Man City at the weekend. On another day, the Whites could have taken an early lead and held on for all three points. But they were let down by their finishing.
Farke’s side posted 1.49 Expected Goals against Man City but that translated to just 0.47 xG on Target. So Leeds significantly reduced their chances of scoring by the placement of their shots. It’s the 14th time this season that Leeds have had a lower xGOT when compared to their xG. And it was their third-biggest drop.
The drop was Leeds’ second in as many games, after a run of three matches in which their xGOT was better than their xG.
Leeds will be wary of their last game against Sunderland too. The Whites posted 2.17 xG agagainst Sunderland at the end of 2025, with just 1.22 xG. The -0.95 difference was the fourth-biggest for Leeds this season.