Manchester United’s first fixture of 2026 sees the Reds travel to Elland Road to face Leeds United on Sunday afternoon.
It’s been almost three years since our last competitive meeting with the Whites, as we ran out 2-0 winners in February 2023, following goals from Marcus Rashford and Alejandro Garnacho.
Ruben Amorim’s side will be aiming to build on a disappointing draw against Wolverhampton Wanderers on Tuesday night and start the year as we mean to go on.
This will be our first match of five in January,
a month which sees us in FA Cup third-round action as we host Brighton & Hove Albion next Sunday.
Joshua Zirkzee’s goal against Wolves last time out was cancelled out when Ladislav Krejci headed home just before half-time.
Prior to this, an impressive performance saw us defeat Newcastle United 1-0 at Old Trafford as Patrick Dorgu bagged his first goal in United colours.
Leeds, however, are unbeaten in six matches, since they lost 3-2 against Manchester City on 29 November.
A strong performance at the Etihad Stadium gave confidence to the newly promoted side who then stunned Chelsea 3-1 at Elland Road, before successive draws against Liverpool and Brentford.
An impressive 4-1 victory against Crystal Palace was then followed by a further two draws against Sunderland and Liverpool. The Whites did manage a draw on their last visit to Old Trafford in February 2023, despite a two-goal comeback from the Reds.
TEAM NEWS
The Reds are set to be without captain Bruno Fernandes again, as he is still recovering from the hamstring issue he picked up against Aston Villa.
Matthijs de Ligt, Harry Maguire, Kobbie Mainoo and Mason Mount have also missed recent games through injury, and Amorim suggested in his pre-match press conference that he doesn’t expect any of them to return.
We will still be without Amad, Bryan Mbeumo and Noussair Mazraoui as they continue their participation in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Meanwhile, Leeds captain Ethan Ampadu will serve a one-match suspension after picking up his fifth yellow card of the season for a handball against Liverpool on New Year’s Day.
Fellow Wales international Joe Rodon will also be missing from the backline after he suffered an ankle injury in the 1-1 draw at Sunderland just after Christmas.
Daniel James is still recovering from his injury and therefore is unlikely to feature against his former side.
Leeds manager Daniel Farke hope Sebastiaan Bornauw and Ilia Gruev will be fit to start after they were both withdrawn from the game at Anfield due to “cramps”.
