Leeds United are in Premier League action this weekend as they travel to Merseyside, to play their 23rd match of the 2021/22 campaign.
The Whites will face Everton on Sunday afternoon (3pm), which will be their second match this week after previously playing out an entertaining midweek three-all draw away at Aston Villa.
Both teams go into the game next to one another in the table, but Marcelo Bielsa’s side currently sit a spot higher than the Toffees, as well as having a four point advantage over them as well.
Recently appointed at Goodison Park, Frank Lampard is now in charge of the Blues and he is attempting to turn around the fortunes for his new side in what has been a tough season. Up to this point, Everton have recorded five wins from 21 matches.
After beginning the season with four wins from their opening six games which offered hope of a European charge, the Blue half of Merseyside have plummeted down the table following just the one win in 16 from there on. That run has also seen Lampard’s new club lose four on the bounce since the turn of the year.
Leeds have began 2022 in a positive fashion, scoring three goals in three out of their four league matches played in this calendar year. A new year success at Burnley was followed up with an impressive win away at West Ham, before a one-nil defeat at home to Newcastle was rectified with another three-goal haul, coming from behind to earn a deserved point at Villa.
With Patrick Bamford still out of the side with injury, Jack Harrison and Dan James have been finding the back of the net with the pairing contributing seven goals between them in the last four games.
When these two teams met in August, a packed out Elland Road witnessed an entertaining 2-2 draw. In the goals that day was Mateusz Klich and Raphinha for Leeds, whilst Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Demarai Gray netted for the visitors on that occasion.
It’s two wingers - and two goal-scorers from the previous encounter - who top the charts for their respective outfits. Raphinha has slotted in between the post eight times, whilst Gray has five.
A win for either side would be a huge bonus. Leeds have the possibility of extending the gap over their opponents to seven and in doing that, they could move up to 13th spot, depending on results elsewhere. A win for Everton would cut the gap to Leeds to just one point and more importantly for them, extend the gap to 18th placed Norwich, who sit just two points behind.
Saturday’s match has not been selected for live television broadcast, but there are still a number of ways you can follow all of the action from Goodison Park, explained further down the page.
Manager/head coach:
Everton: Frank Lampard
Leeds: Marcelo Bielsa
What Marcelo Bielsa said, ahead of the match?
“It’s very difficult to predict what is going to happen in a team or in a game of football. It depends on things that are only verified on the pitch. I can’t give an opinion on the development of the team [under Frank Lampard] but the longer they spend with their new manager, the better the ideas will be implemented.”
League position
Everton: 16th
Leeds: 15th
Premier League form
Everton: DLLLL
Leeds: LWWLD
Top scorer
Everton: Demarai Gray (5)
Leeds: Raphinha (8)
Head to head
Everton: 34
Draws: 33
Leeds: 52
A memorable moment against Everton…
Team news
Following Wednesday night’s entertaining draw with Aston Villa, Marcelo Bielsa has confirmed that there are no new injuries within the camp after that match and nobody else is set to return for the trip to Everton. That means the remaining four players out injured are Kalvin Phillips, Liam Cooper, Patrick Bamford and Junior Firpo.
For Everton, Demarai Gray is a doubt after getting a knock at Newcastle, whilst Yerry Mina will definitely be out after getting injured in the same game. Abdoulaye Doucoure, Tom Davies, Fabian Delph, Vitaly Mykolenko and Ben Godfrey are also still likely to be missing for the Toffees this weekend.
Officials
Referee: Graham Scott
Assistants: Harry Lennard & Mark Scholes
Fourth Official: Anthony Taylor
VAR: Andy Madley
Assistant VAR: Dan Cook
A key battle
Andros Townsend vs Raphinha
Take a look at some key stats between two tricky customers! Both players have a left-foot that can change a game in any moment and they will be looking to do that this weekend, when the teams face off at Goodison Park.
Latest odds
Everton: 13/10
Draw: 13/5
Leeds: 19/10
How to watch
The clash has not been selected for live television broadcast. Fans are able to listen to match commentary as always on LUTV, with up to date blog coverage also available on leedsunited.com.
Supporter information
Please CLICK HERE to read this information ahead of the game.
