Leeds striker Patrick Bamford has suffered a new injury setback; Newcastle wing-back Matt Richie is a doubt with a knee injury; follow Leeds vs Newcastle in our dedicated live match blog; watch free match highlights on Sky Sports digital platforms and YouTube channel from 5.15pm
Saturday 22 January 2022 17:32, UK
Team news, stats and prediction ahead of Leeds vs Newcastle in the Premier League on Saturday; kick-off 3pm.
Leeds striker Patrick Bamford has suffered a new injury setback, but Diego Llorente will return to bolster Leeds' defence in their home game against Newcastle.
Striker Bamford has sustained a foot issue having recovered from successive ankle and hip problems, while Llorente missed last week's win at West Ham due to a one-game ban.
Forwards Joe Gelhardt (ankle) and Tyler Roberts (calf) could return to contention - Roberts was also suspended last week - but midfielder Adam Forshaw and left-back Junior Firpo (both hamstring) have been added to Marcelo Bielsa's long injury list.
Newcastle wing-back Matt Richie is a doubt with a knee injury and will be assessed before head coach Eddie Howe names his team.
Midfielder Jeff Hendrick and striker Dwight Gayle, who both missed last weekend's 1-1 draw with Watford after Howe had revealed there were Covid-19 cases within the camp, have returned to training and Javier Manquillo is available following a one-match ban.
Fellow full-back Jamal Lewis is also back on the training pitch following a hamstring injury, although the game could come too soon for him, but defender Federico Fernandez (thigh), midfielder Isaac Hayden (knee) and striker Callum Wilson (calf) are still out.
Follow Leeds vs Newcastle in our dedicated live match blog. Highlights will also be published on the Sky Sports digital platforms and the Sky Sports Football YouTube channel from 5.15pm on Saturday.
Newcastle are going to fall into a big Leeds trap here.
To stifle Marcelo Bielsa's team you need take the sting out of game, make it scrappy and defend aggressively. That is simply not Eddie Howe's style. He'll be matching the Elland Road outfit up with the hope his attacking players can produce more quality in the final third.
In fixtures like these where Leeds face off against a genuine relegation-threatened outfit, it's most certainly worth backing them as their man-to-man style usually sees their extra quality shine through. Since promotion, in 13 fixtures against teams in the bottom five of the Premier League, Leeds have won 10, scoring 27 times in the process.
All the ingredients should result in a very watchable, end-to-end football match with both defences likely to wilt under the any sort of intense pressure. Only Norwich have shipped more goals than Leeds (39) and Newcastle (42) this season with Bielsa's boys conceding 19 in their last six fixtures. A lack of organisation from set pieces is rearing its head again for Leeds but that is outweighed by the return to a fluidity in attack that once again looks like a Bielsa team, scoring six goals in their last two fixtures against Burnley and West Ham and registering 40 shots in the process. Both teams should be scoring here.
A shots-fest is also predicted with the last three fixtures between these producing 39, 31 and 35 total match shots. A similarly explosive encounter is foreseen and I'm happy to take Sky Bet's special price of 6/1 for Leeds to win, both teams to score and the match to produce 30 or more shots.
SCORE PREDICTION: 3-1
BETTING ANGLE: Leeds to win, BTTS and 30 or more total match shots (6/1 with Sky Bet)
The Essential Football Podcast returns as host Alice Piper is joined by Charlotte Marsh and Ben Grounds to preview another captivating round of Premier League games which could have ramifications at both ends of the table.
PART ONE | After their dramatic, late victory at Leicester, the panel assess whether Antonio Conte's Tottenham can crack the Stamford Bridge code and haul Chelsea back into the wide open race for the top four
PART TWO | Cristiano Ronaldo's tantrum stole the headlines but having bounced back at Brentford have Ralf Rangnick and Man Utd built enough momentum to capitalise on the West Ham fragilities exposed by Leeds and boost their top-four chances? Plus: with an 11-point lead at the summit, can champions Man City afford to take their foot of the gas at Southampton?
PART THREE | An archetypal relegation six-pointer kicks off the Premier League weekend as Watford host Norwich on Friday - but which club is best placed to seize the initiative? Plus: tasked with steadying the ship for the second time in three years, can Duncan Ferguson galvanise Everton ahead of the visit of Steven Gerrard's Aston Villa?