This is the first match between the two teams in nearly 3 years. In the most recent confrontation at Elland Road, Man United won 2-0, thanks to goals from Marcus Rashford and Garnacho.
Forces of the two teams
Man United will continue to be without captain Bruno Fernandes, as he is still recovering from a hamstring injury sustained in the match against Aston Villa.
Matthijs de Ligt, Harry Maguire, Kobbie Mainoo and Mason Mount have also been absent from recent matches due to injuries, and Amorim hinted at the pre-match press conference that he does not expect any of them to return.
Man United will still be without Amad, Bryan Mbeumo and Noussair Mazraoui because they are still participating in the African Football Championship.
Meanwhile, Leeds captain Ethan Ampadu will face a one-match suspension after receiving his fifth yellow card of the season for using his hand to play football in the match against Liverpool on New Year's Day.
Another international player from Wales, Joe Rodon, will also be absent from the defense after he suffered an ankle injury in the 1-1 draw with Sunderland right after Christmas.
Daniel James is still in the process of recovering from injury and therefore is unlikely to play in the match against his old team.
Leeds coach Daniel Farke hopes Sebastiaan Bornauw and Ilia Gruev will be healthy enough to start from the beginning after both had to leave the field in the match at Anfield due to "shootouts".
Schedule, form
This will be Man United's first of five matches in January 2026. In the near future, Man United will play the third round of the FA Cup when hosting Brighton & Hove Albion at home.
In terms of form, Man United is playing very erratically. In the previous round, they drew 1-1 with the bottom team Wolves at home despite leading. Previously, coach Ruben Amorim's team had a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Newcastle.
Meanwhile, Leeds is unbeaten in the last six matches, since the 2-3 defeat to Man City on November 29, 2025.
The impressive performance at the Etihad Stadium added confidence to the newly promoted team, then they surprised when they defeated Chelsea 3-1 at Elland Road, before drawing two consecutive matches against Liverpool and Brentford.
Statistics
According to Opta, Man United are unbeaten in their last 25 Premier League matches against newly promoted teams, since losing 1-4 to Watford in November 2021.
However, Man United has never defeated Leeds when facing them in the first match of the calendar year in the English national championship. Man United drew with Leeds 0-0 in 1931, drew 1-1 in 1958, drew 0-0 in 1994 and lost 1-2 in 1969.
Man United hopes to prevent Dominic Calvert-Lewin from scoring, who has scored in all three recent home matches in the Premier League. This striker has never scored in four consecutive home matches before, while the most recent Leeds player to do this was Mark Viduka in April 2004.
The Leeds United vs Man United match will take place at 7:30 PM on January 4.
