Leeds United vs Arsenal: How to live stream, predictions and team news
Leeds United vs Arsenal: How to live stream, predictions and team news
Arsenal and Leeds United go head-to-head in the Premier League on Sunday with both sides looking to return to form (4:30pm kick-off).
Both teams lost their final game before the international break and currently sit in the bottom half of the table. For hosts Leeds it was a 4-1 thumping at the hands of Crystal Palace, their fourth defeat of the season, leaving them in 15th despite a promising start to the campaign.
They are two points and four places below Arsenal, who were routinely beaten 3-0 by Aston Villa, also their fourth defeat of the season. After the initial excitement surrounding the start of Mikel Arteta’s reign, some doubts have been rising, with the Gunners 11th in the league and five points behind fourth-placed Liverpool.
But Arsenal have a good record against Leeds that will give them confidence going into Sunday’s game. The Gunners are unbeaten in their past seven games with Leeds across all competitions, winning six, since a 3-2 defeat at Highbury in May 2003.
Leeds & Arsenal’s previous line-ups:
- Leeds (vs Crystal Palace): Meslier; Ayling, Koch, Cooper; Dallas, Struijk, Alioski; Costa, Klich, Harrison; Bamford.
- Arsenal (vs Aston Villa): Leno; Holding, Gabriel, Tierney; Bellerin, Partey*, Elneny*, Saka; Willian Lacazette, Aubameyang.
Leeds have no fresh injury concerns, but Kalvin Phillips is in contention to return to the team following a shoulder injury. Rodrigo is also available but Sunday may come too soon for Diego Llorente.
Thomas Partey missed the international break due to a thigh injury he picked up in the defeat to Aston Villa and remains unavailable for this weekend. He is joined on the sidelines by midfield partner Mohamed Elneny, who tested positive for coronavirus while away with Egypt.
Players to watch:
- Leeds: Patrick Bamford. When Leeds won promotion from the Championship, there were doubts over whether Bamford was a good enough striker to lead them in the Premier League. Although he was their top scorer last season, some believed he was too inconsistent and didn’t have Premier League quality having previously struggled in the top flight. But the English striker has worked well to allay those fears, keeping summer signing Rodrigo out of the starting XI. The 27-year-old has started all eight of Leeds’ Premier League games so far, scoring seven goals in the process, with only Jamie Vardy, Mohamed Salah, Son Heung-min and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (all eight) scoring more. Just one of his seven goals this season has come at Elland Road, but Bamford may feel confident against a struggling Arsenal defence.
- Arsenal: Pierre-Emerick Aubamayeng. While Bamford is enjoying himself in the Premier League, Aubemayeng has had a tough campaign. The Arsenal captain, most dangerous through the middle, has been stuck out wide for the majority of the season so far, and it has affected his impact on the Gunners team. In his eight appearances, Aubameyang has scored just twice, once against Fulham on the opening day and then scoring from the spot in the 1-0 win over Manchester United. His goal against Man Utd was Aubameyang’s only shot on target in his past four Premier League appearances, but what’s more worrying is the fact that he has attempted just four shots across that period. Overall, the forward has averaged just 1.3 shots per 90 in the Premier League this season compared to 2.7 in 2019/20. Something has to change if Arsenal are to get the best out of Aubameyang again.
Scoreline prediction: Leeds 1-2 Arsenal
Premier League 2020/21 recent form:
- Leeds: DLWLL
- Arsenal: WLLWL
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