At Elland Road on Sunday afternoon, Leeds United will host Fulham as they continue their hunt for their first victory in the Premier League since August 21. Fulham will be the visitors.
The host squad, who is now ranked 16th in the standings, will come into this encounter on the heels of a loss of 2-0 that they suffered away at Leicester City on Thursday. On the other hand, ninth-placed Fulham won their match against Aston Villa by a score of 3-0 on the same night.
Our Match Preview: Leeds United vs Fulham
Even though Leeds has won only two points in its previous seven Premier League games under Jesse Marsch’s leadership, the club reportedly has no intentions to fire him.
The Whites have lost to Brighton & Hove Albion, Brentford, Crystal Palace, Arsenal, and Leicester City since their 3-0 triumph over Chelsea on August 21 and have drawn with Everton and Aston Villa.
After a disappointing 2-0 loss at Leicester on Thursday, they now lie in 16th place in the league, tied for points with 18th-place Wolverhampton Wanderers after 10 games.
This weekend’s match against Fulham is especially crucial given that Marsch’s team still has to go to Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur before the World Cup break in the season, and that they have a massive home tie against Bournemouth coming up at the beginning of November.
The 2020-21 season will include two Premier League meetings between Leeds and Fulham, with the Whites coming out on top 4-3 in both contests at Elland Road.
Fulham, meanwhile, is off to a strong start this season, sitting in ninth place in the Premier League with 15 points after 11 games (four wins, three draws, and four losses).
One point behind seventh-place Liverpool and six points clear of the drop zone, Marco Silva’s squad seems capable of sustaining itself in the Premier League.
After dropping consecutive league games to Newcastle United and West Ham United at the beginning of October, Fulham salvaged a point with a 2-2 draw against Bournemouth last weekend.
However, the Cottagers come into this encounter on the back of a triumph, having defeated Villa by three goals at Villa Park on Thursday, resulting in the dismissal of head coach Steven Gerrard.
Fulham, like Leeds, faces some challenging games before the winter break in the form of matches against Manchester City and Manchester United at the beginning of November.
However, the capital club will be confident after their strong start as they look to make it back-to-back seasons at this level for the first time since 2014.
Our Team News: Leeds United vs Fulham
The services of Stuart Dallas, Adam Forshaw, and Leo Hjelde will not be available to Leeds once again, while Archie Gray and Pascal Struijk will undergo late fitness tests before the match.
As a result of the troubles that Robin Koch had against Leicester, there is a possibility that Liam Cooper may take his spot in the starting XI. Rodrigo and Jack Harrison are also anticipated to make their way into the team.
Although Patrick Bamford has not found the back of the net in the Premier League so far this season, Marsch is certain that the forward will start putting the ball in the back of the net soon, and he is going to keep playing in the forward position.
Layvin Kurzawa and Manor Solomon are still sidelined for the visitors from Fulham, while Kenny Tete’s status for this matchup is still unknown.
Daniel James will also be unavailable for the Cottagers since the Wales international is unable to play against his parent club, but the capital side has no new problems after their victory against Villa.
As a consequence of this, the same starting eleven may play on Sunday afternoon, with Harrison Reed and Joao Palhinha resuming their positions in the middle midfield.
Aleksandar Mitrovic, who is now 28 years old, scored his eighth goal in the Premier League this season versus Villa, and the Fulham forward will once again lead the team offensively in this matchup.
- Leeds United possible starting lineup: Meslier, Kristensen, Llorente, Cooper, Firpo, Adams, Roca, Harrison, Rodrigo, Sinisterra, Bamford.
- Fulham possible starting lineup: Leno, Cordova-Reid, Diop, Ream, Robinson, Reed, Palhinha; Kebano, Pereira, Willian, Mitrovic.
Our prediction: Leeds United 1-1 Fulham
Fulham will be optimistic about their prospects of pulling up a result in this match, but Leeds will be hoping without hope for a victory.
Although it would not be shocking to see either team win in their stadium or on the road, we can’t shake the idea that a tight game would conclude with both teams getting the same number of points.
