Match Review: Leeds United vs Manchester United

Leeds United vs Manchester United | Premier League | Elland Road | KO 14:00 GMT | Sky Sports
Eighteen years on from their last visit to Elland Road, Manchester United travel to Leeds United in the War of the Roses, having won 6-2 in the first battle of the season between the pair.
When the sides face on Sunday afternoon, Manchester United have the chance to close the gap to league leaders Manchester City to just eight points; with The Reds being the most in-form team in the league, anything could happen in the run in.
Now that any ludicrous fantasies about a Super League have been shelved (for the time being), Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s men can hope to regain their attention in the push to the end of the season.
How do Manchester United Look?
Embed from Getty ImagesOff the pitch, things are once again getting extremely heated between fans and the Glazer family, and there were protests outside Old Trafford on Saturday to demonstrate that.
On the pitch, United are in good shape; they are in-form and have only a few injuries and suspensions to worry about.
Eric Bailly is back and available, following his period of self-isolation after a positive COVID-19 test, whilst Phil Jones has stepped up his recovery, but is highly unlikely to feature at all before the end of the season.
Anthony Martial also remains out for the foreseeable future.
Marcus Rashford is the biggest concern for Solskjaer going into the fierce match at the weekend; he has not trained at all with the squad this week, as he is still struggling with the foot injury that has been bothering him for a number of weeks.
Embed from Getty Images“Marcus hasn’t trained but I hope that he will join us tomorrow” was all that the boss had to say about the English attacker.
The hosts play with an attacking intent that is rarely seen from sides outside of the top 6, and United must be wary of that, and avoid committing too many men forward in their own attack.
With that being said, a sitting midfield duo of Scott McTominay and Fred may be the best option for the away side in order to limit Marcelo Bielsa’s side’s chances in the match.
Opposition: Leeds United
Last season’s Championship champions have had a fair return to the topflight of English football, finding themselves tenth in the Premier League, and are unbeaten in five.
They may, however, be without star player Raphinha, who missed their recent visit to Anfield.
Embed from Getty ImagesThe Brazilian winger is good friends with Bruno Fernandes, and reports suggest that United’s Portuguese magnifico may be keen on bringing him to Old Trafford this summer, making any appearance for the winger a potential United audition.
Liam Cooper is suspended, and Rodrigo is out with an injury.
Key Stats
Embed from Getty ImagesFormer Champions league semi-finalists Leeds United have won just twice against Manchester United since 1997, failing to win on 15 occasions in that time.
Since they last won a league game against Manchester United, the hosts have been relegated to the third tier of English football, spending 10 years in the Championship before finally making it back to the Premier League.
During that time, Manchester United won six Premier League titles, two FA Cups, four League Cups, the Europa League,and the Champions League, as well as seven community shields for good measure.
Prediction
Leeds United 2-3 Manchester United.
Match Preview Writer