Leeds United host Sunderland in the Championship on Monday night, with both sides aiming to secure all three points in their race for automatic promotion.
Both teams secured three points in midweek with Leeds easing past Watford at Vicarage Road, whilst Regis Le Bris’ Sunderland side beat a struggling Luton Town team 2-0 at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday evening.
Here is everything you need to know ahead of kick-off:
Team news
Leeds United
Defender Pascal Struijk played 90 minutes in the FA Cup against Millwall last weekend and was on the bench for Leeds’ 4-0 win over Watford on Tuesday following a hamstring injury.
Farke could put Struijk back in the starting XI and play Ethan Ampadu alongside Ao Tanaka in midfield, with Ilia Gruev dropping to the bench.
Predicted XI: Meslier; Bogle, Struijk, Rodon, Firpo; Ampadu, Tanaka; James, Aaronson, Solomon; Piroe.
Sunderland
Regis Le Bris confirmed that Romaine Mundle is available for Monday night’s top of the table clash.
Mundle had four goals and two assists in just 12 starts before suffering a hamstring injury in Sunderland’s 2-2 draw with Coventry in November.
Midfielder Alan Browne will also be in contention against Leeds. The Republic of Ireland international also last featured against Coventry.
Predicted XI: Patterson, Hume, O’Nien, Ballard, Cirkin, Neil, Bellingham, Roberts, Rigg, Le Fee, Isidor.
Form guide
Daniel Farke’s side have won five of their last six in the Championship with a 0-0 draw against promotion rivals Burnley the only time Leeds have dropped points since their 3-3 draw against Hull City on January 4th.
Farke’s side also haven’t conceded a league goal since then and have scored 18 goals in those six games.
Meanwhile, Le Bris side are looking for some consistency having not won back to back games since their wins over Sheffield United and Portsmouth in early January.
Despite their inconsistencies the Black Cats are unbeaten in the league since a 1-0 defeat to Stoke City on December 29th.
The two clubs last met in October, playing out a 2-2 draw. Chris Rigg gave Sunderland an early lead before goals from Joel Piroe and Junior Firpo gave Leeds a 2-1 lead.
It looked certain that all three points were heading back to Elland Road before a Illan Meslier blunder gifted Sunderland a point in the seventh minute of stoppage time.
The two clubs have met six times since 2015, three of which have finished as draws.
Sunderland last beat Leeds in December 2023 with a 1-0 win at the Stadium of Light, whilst Leeds last win over the Black Cats came in 2017.
Players to watch
Leeds United
Dan James is hitting form at the right time for the league leaders. The Welsh international has four goals and three assists in his last five games.
Piroe is also enjoying his finest form of the season with four goals and an assist in his last four games. The striker now has 14 goals this season.
Sunderland
Striker Wilson Isidor has been in fine form of late for the away side with five goals and an assist in his last eight games.
That tally could also be significantly higher as the Frenchman missed two penalties against Burnley.
Loanee Enzo Le Fee has impressed since his arrival from Roma in January.
Le Fee scored his first goal for Sunderland in midweek with a curling effort from outside the area.
What the managers are saying
From @LUFC on X, Daniel Farke: “Régis is a pretty experienced manager. We know the potential of Sunderland, really good individual players, youth, energy and talent. We have to be good to control their offensive players.”
From @SunderlandAFC on X, Regis Le Bris: “It’s a tough game but an exciting challenge. We will use our strengths to create the best scenarios for us. We are ready for the test.”
Ref watch
Craig Pawson will be the man in the middle for Monday night’s Championship clash.
Both sides have found wins hard to come by when Pawson has officiated with Leeds winning four of 12 games whilst Sunderland have won just two of 15 games when the South Yorkshire born referee is in charge.
Match details
The match will take place on Monday evening with a 8pm kick-off, at Elland Road.
