Leeds United expert Will Butcher has spoken to Sunderland AFC News ahead of an exciting Championship clash on Friday night.
Sunderland welcome Leeds United to the Stadium of Light on Friday night, for a clash between two promotion-chasing teams in the Championship.
Ahead of this one, Regis Le Bris’ Black Cats sit in 1st place of the Championship table, coming into this game on the back of a 2-0 win against Derby County in midweek.
Daniel Farke’s Leeds meanwhile sit in 5th place having lost just one league game all season and drawing at Norwich City in midweek.
Last time Sunderland played Leeds United, the two teams drew 0-0 at Elland Road. But Sunderland beat Leeds 1-0 on Wearside in December last year, with Jobe Bellingham scoring the winning goal.
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Leeds United expert shares score prediction for Sunderland
Will Butcher, who writes for Leeds United News, recently spoke to Sunderland AFC News, sharing his score prediction for the game on Friday night.
He explained how Leeds head to Wearside with an injury-stricken squad right now, saying: “Leeds could be without six first-team players on Friday.
“We will definitely be without Ethan Ampadu, Dan James, Manor Solomon and Max Wober.
“Ilia Gruev and Isaac Schmidt are late decisions. So for that reason, against an in-form Sunderland said that won last time out, in a fixture Leeds actually lost last season, I’m not overly-confident of a good result here.
“It is a good time to play Leeds. The chances are it will be Ao Tanaka and Joe Rothwell in midfield, very attack-minded because that’s all we have if Gruev is missing. If they can’t work together, then it’ll be a Sunderland win.”
Butcher predicted a 1-1 draw.
Sunderland must aim big against Leeds United
Sunderland’s result against Leeds United will tell us a lot about how serious they are in this season’s title race.
A win, whether it be a confident one or not, would show us that this young Sunderland side has the quality and mettle to put up a really strong challenge this season.
But if the Black Cats falter, it could be a sign that there’s still a way to go before we’re looking at a serious title contender.
The signs going into this one are positive, though. Sunderland are in good form and looked good in midweek, and whilst Leeds have been solid, Farke looks as though he’ll have to field a make-shift XI on Friday.
It’ll play into Sunderland’s hands and they need to take full advantage of that.