Leeds United are back in action on Saturday evening, as they take on Arsenal in the Premier League. The match is live on Sky Sports and will kick-off under the lights, at 5:30pm. 

With just two Premier League matches taking place on Saturday, with the other being Aston Villa vs Burnley, supporters are reminded of the current measures in place for those attending the match.

😷 Lets help protect each other and stay as safe as possible pic.twitter.com/a7DzkBd6dx

— Leeds United (@LUFC) December 17, 2021

Heading into the match, the Whites are unbeaten on home turf in their last five league outings. Wins against Watford and Crystal Palace were combined with draws against Leicester, Wolves and most recently, Brentford.

Stats-wise, Arsenal have an impressive record of their own. Saturday’s visitors will arrive holding a record of being unbeaten at Elland Road in their last six, a run stretching back to 2000. The Gunners have also won 10 from their last 13 matches away at teams in Yorkshire. 

Last season, the two teams played out a 0-0 draw in this fixture. An early red card in the second half to Nicholas Pepe saw the Whites dominate, but they couldn’t find the back of the net despite 25 shots on goal. 

Two players who haven’t found it hard to hit the back of the net this season, are Raphinha for Leeds and Emile Smith-Rowe for the visitors. Both players have been key to their side picking up points and that may well be the case again on Saturday evening. 

Assists wise, Smith-Rowe is helped by the form of his club and England teammate Bukayo Saka, who leads the way for Arsenal’s creative department and has seen a recent resurgence up the league table. 

The Gunners were bottom of the table at the end of August are beginning the campaign with three losses in a row, but nine wins from 14 has seen them shoot back up and into possible top-four contention. 

On the road though, Mikel Arteta’s side have lost their last three, with the previous away victory coming in October. A win in this encounter could see them further strengthen their current position of fourth in the table, whilst a win for Leeds would take them up one to 15th. 

Manager/head coach:

Leeds: Marcelo Bielsa

Arsenal: Mikel Arteta

What Marcelo Bielsa said ahead of the match?

“To be able to face the most difficult moments, you come out of them correcting things, taking on board things, not delegating responsibilities, not looking to blame others, they’re all the things we try to do. Any game that was next was always a possibility to revert or comeback from the last game.”

🎙 Marcelo sits down with the press ahead of Saturday's clash with Arsenal https://t.co/9Q7lg0kAPP

— Leeds United (@LUFC) December 16, 2021

League position

Leeds: 16th

Arsenal: 4th

Premier League form

Leeds: DWDLL

Arsenal: WLLWW

Top scorer

Leeds: Raphinha (7)

Arsenal: Emile Smith-Rowe (6)

Head to head

Leeds: 41

Draws: 33

Arsenal: 49

A memorable moment against Arsenal…

🙌 "𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐌𝐜𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐢𝐭'𝐬 𝐚 𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭 𝐠𝐨𝐚𝐥!"#LUFC x #GoalOfTheDay pic.twitter.com/ZQobIbeRR4

— Leeds United (@LUFC) December 17, 2021

Team news

Marcelo Bielsa has confirmed that no players will be back from their recent injuries, but Robin Koch is now available for selection after returning to training. Dan James and Jamie Shackleton both picked up knocks during the week, so they’ll now also be missing from the line-up and Junior Firpo is suspended. 

For Arsenal, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will not be involved for the foreseeable future. Other possible absentees for Mikel Arteta’s side are goalkeeper Bernd Leno and defender, Sead Kolašinac. 

Officials

Referee - Andre Marriner

Assistant Referee 1 - Eddie Smart

Assistant Referee 2 - Scott Ledger

Fourth Official - John Brooks

Video Assistant Referee - Michael Oliver

The key battle

Raphinha vs Bukayo Saka 

Take a look at some key stats between two players who are likely to be prominent in attack for either side, with goals, assists, pace and trickery all possible from either of them!

👊@LUFC face Arsenal in the @premierleague this Saturday!

We've compared the stats of Raphinha & Bukayo Saka ahead of the game. #LUFC #MOT @tuffshop pic.twitter.com/FS2a9f5h0a

— Leeds United StatZone (@lufcsz) December 16, 2021

Latest odds 

Leeds: 29/10

Draw: 11/4

Arsenal: 17/20 

How to watch

The match has been selected for live broadcast on Sky Sports. Live commentary is available as always on LUTV, with up to date blog coverage on leedsunited.com 

Supporter information

🏟 To create a safe matchday, fans are reminded of the new protocols in place for #LUFC's game against Arsenal

— Elland Road (@EllandRoad) December 17, 2021