Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United host Newcastle United on Wednesday evening (6pm).
Steve Bruce will bring his outfit to Elland Road to partake in a fixture which hasn’t taken place in a league encounter since 2017, when both teams were competing in the Championship.
Following a period of absence due to Covid-19 and the closure of their training ground, the Magpies left isolation and got straight back to winning ways by defeating West Bromwich Albion on Saturday. It had taken Bruce’s side just 20 seconds to find the net upon their return, with Miguel Almiron putting them ahead in the 2-1 victory.
That victory moved Newcastle into 12th place in the league and having played one game less than many of the competitors around them, it has been a productive start to the campaign at St James’ Park.
After defeat to West Ham United on Friday evening, Marcelo Bielsa’s side will be looking to get back to winning ways in their final home match before Christmas. Patrick Bamford will be seeking to start quickly again and extend to his eight goals so far this campaign. The striker has played a major role inside the opening minutes lately, scoring against Chelsea and winning a penalty against West Ham United in his last two matches.
Leading the line for Newcastle will be Callum Wilson, who is sitting one goal below Bamford on seven. The striker - who joined the Magpies in the summer from Bournemouth - is way ahead of his teammates in the scoring charts, due to six other players all having just the one strike each to their name.
At the back, Newcastle have had just the two clean sheets from 11 matches so far. Both of these shutouts came away from home and were of the same scoreline, 2-0 successes against West Ham and Crystal Palace. In contrast, Leeds have stopped the opposition from scoring on four separate occasions.
Manager/head coach
Leeds United: Marcelo Bielsa
Newcastle United: Steve Bruce
League position
Leeds United: 14th
Newcastle United: 12th
Premier League form
Leeds United: LDWLL
Newcastle United: WLLWW
Premier League top scorer
Leeds United: Patrick Bamford (8)
Newcastle United: Callum Wilson (7)
Head to head
Leeds United: 37
Draws: 19
Newcastle United: 39
Last time at Elland Road
Sunday 20th November, 2016.
Championship
Leeds United 0
Newcastle United 2 (Gayle 23, 54)
Team news
There are no new injury concerns for Marcelo to contend with ahead of the game. Both Robin Koch and Diego Llorente remain sidelined with injuries but positive news has come in the form of Pablo Hernandez and Jamie Shackleton returning to action.
Notable absentees at the weekend for Newcastle United were Jamaal Lascelles, Allan Saint-Maximin and Ryan Fraser. It remains unclear as to whether the trio will be missing on Wednesday/
There are also questions to ponder over who starts in attack for Steve Bruce - positives ones from his point of view - following Dwight Gayle’s winner from the bench against West Bromwich Albion.
Officials
Referee - Simon Hooper
Assistant Referee 1 - Eddie Smart
Assistant Referee 2 - Simon Beck
Fourth Official - Tony Harrington
Video Assistant Referee - Kevin Friend
The key battle
Patrick Bamford vs Karl Darlow
Renewing their youth and multiple training sessions, Bamford and Darlow will line up against each other after spending many years on the same side at Nottingham Forest, during their younger days. Darlow has been between the sticks in every Premier League match this season for the Magpies and Bamford has led the line for Leeds in every Premier League game thus far too. The pairing will be going head-to-head on Wednesday evening for the first time since 2014/15. During that season, it was one win apiece whilst they represented Middlesbrough and Nottingham Forest respectively.
Latest odds
Leeds United: 3/4
Draw: 14/5
Newcastle United: 7/2
How to watch
The game will be broadcast on Amazon Prime, with live commentary on LUTV.
