Leeds United 0-0 Manchester United - recap and reaction: Whites play out stalemate with Red Devils at Elland Road

It’s the big one this afternoon...

What a day it would’ve been at Elland Road in more normal times. Alas, we will have to wait for another day to see the stands full once more.

Leeds United host arch rivals Manchester United in LS11 for the first time in league action in nearly 18 years today.

We’ll be here, as always, to guide you through all the pre-match build-up, in-game action and post match reaction.

Stay tuned...

Leeds will be without suspended club captain Liam Cooper as he serves the second game of a three-match ban.

Rodrigo is also still missing while winger Raphinha is doubtful with the Brazilian continuing to battle a thigh injury.

Adam Forshaw - who has been out for 18 months due to a complex hip issue - has now picked up a muscle problem following his return to competitive action with the club’s development side last week.

Manchester United have welcomed back defender Eric Bailly this week after he completed Covid-19 protocols.

Anthony Martial and Phil Jones, though, remain sidelined with respective knee injuries.

Solskjaer also revealed that England forward Marcus Rashford hasn’t trained at all in the build-up to the trip across the Pennines to West Yorkshire due to a ongoing foot issue.

The Red Devils are hopeful over his involvement but could yet be without one of their star men in LS11.

YEP XI: Meslier; Ayling, Llorente, Struijk, Alioski; Phillips; Dallas, Roberts, Costa, Harrison; Bamford.

“I know perfectly what it means to play in a classic game,” Bielsa said during his pre-match press conference.

“It’s something that has built up through many years, relaying the feelings of the fans. I know the effect that the result will have on the emotion of the people.

“For every game we go into it trying to score and trying to avoid conceding. Of course what happened in that last game we have present in our minds.

“The measures to try and avoid conceding goals they have some tactical aspects and strategic aspects. They have to implement the ideas and then try to impose them.

“You have to recognise the characteristics of the opponent’s forwards and try to organise our players on the field so they can pick up the protagonists in Man United’s play.

“We try to match them up with players in our team who are up to the challenge of neutralising them.”

“Well, inside the stadium there won’t be any fans unfortunately. It’s important we focus on our game,” Solskjaer said during his pre-match press conference.

“You know fans between our clubs have always had a rivalry and it has to be a healthy rivalry. That’s important as well, in a period like this, that we don’t want to incite or brew anything up. We just play football.

“It’s important that we’ve listened to the fans [on the European Super League] and I’m so, so happy that the fans have been heard, and let’s go onto the game of football now.”

A snippet on the European Super League...

“The audacity of a resurgent Leeds United, an ambitious Aston Villa, a brilliantly managed Leicester City, a Champions League-bound West Ham United and an Everton with bold stadium plans have clearly overwhelmed the self-proclaimed “big six”.

“The timing of their plan combined with the turmoil of a global pandemic was not coincidental it was deeply cynical, and the clandestine plotting of fellow Premier League shareholders made it all the more seditious.

“It was a disgrace that managers and players were left to defend the indefensible in front of the media while their owners cowered at home.

“Full credit to Leeds’ own James Milner for being the first of many players to speak out and to the supporters clubs and the trusts of the clubs involved who voiced their objections so passionately and unequivocally. These clubs are great institutions that we admire and have long aspired to compete against.

“The 14 “other” Premier League clubs want and need their brilliant teams and wonderful fans in our league but these teams and supporters deserve custodians who share the belief in the football pyramid and the abhorrence of the prospect of pulling up the drawbridge to create a sporting cartel.

“The Premier League and European qualification has never been a closed shop. It has had 49 members, 29 of which have played in Europe and 37 of which have played in League One, proving the dreams of every football fan in the country has the chance to be realised.”