Fresh off their impressive 3-1 comeback win away to Derby County in the Emirates FA Cup Third Round last weekend, Leeds United return to West Yorkshire, where they will look to maintain their strong home record as they face Fulham.
At Pride Park, it was Wilfried Gnonto, Ao Tanaka and James Justin on the scoresheet in a game United largely controlled. Justin’s goal was his first for the club and Tanaka’s was Leeds’ first by an Asian player in the FA Cup, but it was Gnonto’s smashing strike that will be the most memorable, coming from neat build-up play and a smart Joël Piroe dummy.
The Whites have two brilliant wins against Chelsea and Crystal Palace, along with two strong draws against Liverpool and Manchester United in their last four matches at Elland Road. Since December, they have lost only once in the Premier League, coming last time out in cruel fashion against Newcastle.
Brenden Aaronson scored a brace in that game, with Premier League Player of the Month Dominic Calvert-Lewin netting as well. The pair are in fine form at the moment – the American has three goals in his last two league matches and the Englishman has eight in his last nine.
Daniel Farke’s team are currently 16th in the table after the first 21 matches and now face the side they lost 1-0 to in London in September. The Cottagers currently sit ninth in the Premier League, nine points above Leeds.
After a run in the fall when they lost four straight, Fulham have found their form, taking 14 points from their last 18 available. This season, the Cottagers have beaten the likes of Chelsea, Sunderland and Brentford, and they are sure to present a real challenge for Daniel Farke’s resurgent United.
The match will be the first chance to see new signing Facundo Buonanotte in action, who joined on loan from Brighton & Hove Albion until the end of the 2025/26 campaign. The Argentinian international arrives at Elland Road having made 125 first team appearances, spanning over the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Europa League and international level.
Over the years, there have been many memorable encounters between the two sides. Leeds and Fulham have faced each other 64 times, with the Whites winning 26 and drawing 15 of those matches.
Most notably in recent times, United did the double over the Cottagers in the 2020-21 season, beating the visitors 4-3 at Elland Road before winning 2-1 in London thanks to goals from Patrick Bamford and Raphinha.
Action from Elland Road gets underway at 3pm and you can follow all the action across leedsunited.com, as well as on LUTV.
We’ve met before:
Team news:
Ahead of the clash, Farke expects Sebastiaan Bornauw, Joe Rodon, Gabriel Gudmundsson and Jayden Bogle to be available for selection. Daniel James is well on his way to recovery in rehabilitation and shouldn't be too far away from team training.
How to follow:
Monthly audio subscribers around the world can listen to every minute of Saturday’s fixture LIVE on LUTV. Bryn Law will be joined by Tony Dorigo on commentary. Pre-match build up begins at 2:30pm with Michael Bridges and Simon Grayson in the studio!
Welcome Facundo!
Important supporter information:
Discriminatory language or chanting, including tragedy chanting, is not acceptable, and you could be breaking the law. The club condemns this behaviour and has a zero-tolerance policy towards discrimination abuse of all kinds.
To report an incident, text LEEDS along with any relevant information including ticket details, your name and description of an incident to 60006. You will then receive an automated response which means that your report has been logged and will then be looked into.
Tough measures and sanctions are in place across all English football leagues to tackle dangerous and illegal behaviours within football grounds, and this involves but is not limited to, discriminatory behaviour, tragedy chanting, fans entering the pitch, the use of pyros and throwing objects.
More supporter information can be found HERE.
The view from inside the camp:
Ahead of the game, centre-half duo Pascal Struijk and Sebastiaan Bornauw spoke exclusively to Premier League Productions.
“I feel like in the last few games, Fulham have been picking up form so it will definitely be a tough game,” Struijk said.
“But they are coming to Elland Road, which we know is a very hard place to play, and we have been doing well at home. So, we want to take that form, the crowd, into this game and then we will see what happens."
“Elland Road is really nice, really electric. I would say Elland Road is in the moment and I think that is what I really, really like. As a player, you get fire in the eyes and that is what I like about our home crowd, it gives you so much energy," Bornauw added.
Read Struijk's full interview HERE. Read Bornauw's full interview HERE.
What has Daniel Farke said ahead of the match?
League position:
Leeds: 16th
Fulham: 9th
Top scorer:
Leeds: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (9)
Fulham: Harry Wilson (7)
Officials
Referee: Christopher Kavanagh
Assistant referees: Dan Cook & Ian Hussin
Fourth official: Thomas Bramall
Video Assistant Referee: Timothy Wood
Additional Video Assistant Referee: Wade Smith
