Leeds United vs. Sheffield United
Venue: Elland Road
Kick off: 3PM
Leeds United will be looking to make it back-to-back wins in the Premier League and climb into the top half of the division when they host Sheffield United this afternoon.
The Whites beat Fulham 2-1 prior to the international break, while the Blades went down 5-0 to Leicester City in their most recent league outing.
Only twice since the end of September have Leeds won successive league matches, but that will be the aim for Marcelo Bielsa’s side this weekend against the division’s worst team.
Patrick Bamford was the star of the show at Craven Cottage two weeks ago with a goal and an assist for Raphinha in United’s 2-1 victory.
That win leaves Leeds 11th in the table, two points behind Aston Villa directly above them and a further point behind ninth-placed Arsenal.
It has been an impressive first campaign back in the top flight for the Whites, and Bielsa will be eager to keep the momentum going with just nine more games to play.
After this visit of bottom side Sheffield United, though, Leeds have a daunting run of fixtures against Manchester City, Liverpool, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur in four of their next five games.
Three of those matches are at Elland Road, where Leeds have kept a clean sheet in three of their last four games, which is as many as their previous 27 top-flight games there.
Putting three points on the board this weekend is important, then, but the Blades will also be keen to give their supporters something be positive about with a Yorkshire derby win.
The visitors have already thrown in the towel with regards to their survival prospects following a run of six defeats in seven games, failing to score in all but one of those losses.
Indeed, Sheff Utd have scored a league-low 16 Premier League goals this season and have the lowest shot conversion rate in the division, netting just 6.56% of their attempts.
That latest league reverse at the hands of Leicester leaves them 14 points adrift of safety with just 21 points left to play for, effectively meaning that they may need to win every match from this point on.
United’s last match before the international break was a 2-0 loss to Chelsea in the FA Cup quarter-finals, so it is now a case of crossing off their remaining league matches and waiting for their relegation fate to be confirmed.
Leeds United possible XI: Meslier, Ayling, Llorente, Struijk, Alioski, Raphinha, Phillips, Dallas, Harrison, Roberts, Bamford.
Sheffield United possible XI: Ramsdale, Basham, Egan, Ampadu, Baldock, Lundstram, Norwood, Fleck, Stevens, McGoldrick, McBurnie.