Leeds United v Leicester City: YEP Jury give their verdicts

JACOB STARR

Hopefully, Leeds United can build on the much-needed win against Norwich with some kind of result on Sunday against Leicester City.

The Whites would move to within a point of the Foxes with victory at Elland Road and last night Brendan Rodgers’ men competed in the Europa League. Tiredness could be an important factor with Leeds having had a full week compared to Leicester’s two days.

The visitors are undoubtedly a good side because, despite losing 2-0 to Arsenal in their last league game, they were really unfortunate not to come away with something. The pick of their results so far is the 4-2 win over Manchester United.

Raphinha magic and a goalkeeping mistake saw us over the line at Carrow Road but, against top teams, especially those of European standard, this can’t be our be all and end all. We were hammered 4-1 in this fixture last campaign but I predict a tighter game this time around with an inconsistent Leicester coming up against a Leeds team in urgent need of points.

Also, in my opinion, Jack Harrison and Dan James must improve their end product whilst Rodrigo needs to increase his involvement in more advanced positions.

Prediction: Leeds United 1 Leicester City 1.

ANDY RHODES

With Leeds United creeping up the form table, Marcelo Bielsa’s side will go into Sunday’s game at Elland Road against Leicester City in confident mood.

Last weekend’s win at Norwich City was huge and will give United added momentum going into a trickier run of fixtures that will barely let up until the new year.

Leeds, then, will have to work harder for their points.

Marcelo Bielsa will be hoping that his side can become less reliant on Raphinha while his defence will have its work cut out keeping the likes of Jamie Vardy and Youri Tielemans quiet.

Leicester haven’t started the season as well as they would have hoped but can still boast an unbeaten record on the road of nearly two months.

If Leeds can start this run of games before the international break with a win, it will give them further confidence but a defeat could halt the progress made in recent outngs.

This Sunday could be the beginning of a defining period in Leeds United’s Premier League season.

Prediction: Leeds United 1 Leicester City 3.

KEITH INGHAM

My favourite team goes into the weekend’s fixture with Leicester City on the back of two improved results that allayed a few fears that were surfacing owing to the team sliding into the Premier League’s bottom three.

Both teams, mind you, haven’t been perfect but four points out of six is a decent return. Injuries will probably mean Luke Ayling and Patrick Bamford will still be absent so Marcelo Bielsa may keep the same side. But he has options of playing youngster Cody Drameh, who made his debut at Norwich as a sub’ for Jamie Shackleton at right-back, or Shackleton could return after coming off with a thigh strain.

Junior Firpo could give him another at left-back if he’s fit. Stuart Dallas, who revealed last week that he’d had Covid and had lost a close friend, was impressive at City at left-back but could move into midfield if Firpo returns.

Rodrigo will be hoping to continue his scoring run after netting in Leeds’ two most recent games and I’m thinking Raphinha is key in getting something out of this important game. A draw wouldn’t be a disaster.

For their part, Leicester City have had some good displays and beat Manchester City 1-0 in the Community Shield to add to their FA Cup win last season and beat Manchester United 4-2 a couple of weeks ago at home, though last weekend they lost 2-0 to Arsenal.

The Foxes have a good squad and will be hoping for a Champions League place this season after missing out again last term. They are 11th with 14 points from 10 games.

Leeds have some important fixtures coming up and another three points would be very helpful as their next two games after another international break are both away, to Tottenham and Brighton. And both, on paper, look tough games.

Prediction: Leeds United 1 Leicester City 1.

DAVID WATKINS

We’ve not won two on the bounce yet this season so it would be good to get that monkey off our backs this weekend.

It’s almost exactly a year since we were trounced 4-1 at Elland Road by the Foxes in our seventh game of last season, it being a later start of course owing to Covid. At the time we had the same points tally as we have now, 10, but from three fewer games while the Foxes went second in the table after that victory.

Leicester have not had such a good start this time and have been erratic to say the least. They lost at home to Arsenal last time out yet thrashed Manchester United 4-2 two weeks earlier. They have the distraction of the Europa League this week too, albeit at home against Spartak Moscow. Harvey Barnes, James Maddison and James Justin all have a virus and will miss that one but they are expected to be available for the trip to Leeds.

I’m struggling to guess how this one will go but, if we continue to underperform, then the best we are likely to get is a point.

Prediction: Leeds United 2 Leicester City 2.

MIKE GILL

The second Sunday 2pm kick-off in a row. Is this a record? Who cares; the only record that United are interested in is making their worst Premier League start just a memory.

In midweek, Andrea Radrizzani pledged his unconditional support to Marcelo Bielsa. We know that he actually means it and we are blessed that both men are leading our club.

In the murky world of modern football, this is a rarity and should be cherished for as long as it lasts.

United’s performance against Norwich was hardly a glorious victory but it was a gutsy win and a step in the right direction.

It is the responsibility of all of us to raise the noise levels to the same pitch as the last time we were at Elland Road, however the game goes.

Leicester lost to Arsenal last time out and will have completed their tie with Spartak Moscow by the time we meet them.

This game is a tough one to call under any circumstances and I’m going for a draw in the fervent hope that it won’t be too long before we are predicting wins in all our home matches!

Prediction: Leeds United 1 Leicester City 1.

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