Scott Gardner’s Under 18s side will take on Manchester United Under 18s at Thorp Arch on Saturday, in a 12:00 kick-off.

The Whites have won one and lost one of their opening two matches in the U18 Premier League North division. The opening day success over Everton was followed up with a narrow defeat away at Nottingham Forest, last time out.

The Red Devils arrive in West Yorkshire this weekend on the back of a tough start to their season. An opening day 3-0 defeat at rivals Manchester City was prior to a further heavy loss, when they went down 5-0 at home to Liverpool.

Despite the clear focus on the development aspect within the younger age groups of club football, the clash this weekend will see both the Whites and Reds wanting to come out on top in this rival fixture.

Like with the Under 23s and First Team side, this will be final outing for the U18s prior to the international break taking place.

Manager/coach:

Leeds: Scott Gardner

Man Utd: Travis Binnion

What has Scott Gardner said ahead of the match?

“We identified and worked on a few bits in preparation for the game this weekend. There is always a little bit more on this type of fixture for the lads, with it being Manchester United. But, our message to them is to carry on as normal, business as usual, go out there and do what we’ve worked on.”

League position:

Leeds: 8th

Man Utd: 14th

Top scorer:

Leeds: Luca Thomas, Joe Snowdon (1)

Man Utd: n/a