Leeds United and Manchester United meet at Elland Road on Sunday afternoon (14:00 BST kick-off) with the two old rivals heading in opposite directions. Daniel Farke’s Leeds sit eighth in the Premier League table, unbeaten in seven straight home league games and chasing a first back-to-back league double over United since the 1971/72 season. Michael Carrick’s United, down in 14th, have won just twice in nine matches this term and will go six games without a win in all competitions for the first time since the end of 2018/19 if they leave West Yorkshire beaten.
There is team news of note, too. Lisandro Martinez starts for United despite his controversial midweek criticism of the club’s hierarchy, with Marcus Rashford and Matheus Cunha among the substitutes after Tuesday’s 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid. Luke Shaw misses out entirely, while Leny Yoro is set to feature at right-back and Diogo Dalot on the left.
A 54-year wait Leeds want to end
Leeds ended a run of ten Premier League games without a win against United in memorable fashion in April, winning 2-1 at Old Trafford. Noah Okafor scored twice that afternoon, finding the net in the fifth and 29th minutes before Casemiro pulled one back for the hosts after the break.
Victory on Sunday would give Leeds consecutive league wins over United for the first time since they won both meetings in the 1971/72 campaign — a wait of 54 years. The Opta numbers behind the fixture underline how rare that would be: Mark Viduka remains the only Leeds player to score more than twice against United in the Premier League, with four goals, and the last Leeds player to score in consecutive league appearances against them was Viduka himself, who netted in three successive meetings between March 2001 and March 2002.
Okafor, with two Premier League goals against United — both in that April win — has the chance to close in on the Australian’s mark.
Elland Road has become a fortress again
Leeds are unbeaten in their last seven Premier League home games, winning four and drawing three, with clean sheets in four of those matches. They have not conceded more than once in any of their last ten home league fixtures. The last time they put together a longer unbeaten run on home soil was between January and December 2001, when they went 15 games without defeat at Elland Road.
This season’s home record backs it up: a 4-1 win over Newcastle United, a 1-1 draw with Brentford and a goalless draw against Crystal Palace, with just two goals conceded across the three matches.
The form is not just recent. Since the start of December 2025, Leeds have collected 45 points from 31 Premier League games — a tally bettered by only five clubs. Their home return over the same period, 29 points, is bettered only by Arsenal, Manchester City and, perhaps surprisingly given their struggles, Manchester United themselves.
United’s worst start since 1986/87
Carrick’s side have made a difficult start by any measure. Six points from their opening six Premier League matches — one win, three draws and two defeats — is their lowest tally after six league games since 1986/87, when they had four points under Ron Atkinson.
Defensively, the numbers are uncomfortable too. United have failed to keep a clean sheet in their opening six league matches for a second consecutive season; they had not started back-to-back campaigns that way since 1930/31 and 1931/32.
Carrick, though, asked for perspective ahead of the trip. “Perspective is important,” he said. “Football can change. When we came in in January, we were a lot further away from third spot than we are now and we ended up finishing third.” He added: “It depends what you focus on. If you focus on some things, maybe there are issues that we need to fix. Or do you focus on the things that are possible and what can be achieved? That is a very different mentality.”
On the club’s wider ambitions, the United head coach was clear: “The goal at this football club is always to win. There’s no time frame on that from my perspective. We’re trying to build to get to somewhere we haven’t been for too long. Sometimes you’ve got to go through different pathways to get to the top.”
Martinez starts after midweek controversy
The headline selection call came in defence. Martinez keeps his place after his controversial remarks criticising United’s hierarchy in midweek, with BBC Sport’s chief football news reporter Simon Stone reporting from Elland Road that the defender’s apology was enough to allow him to start.
Stone noted the general consensus from Madrid on Tuesday was that United looked a more solid team despite the 2-0 defeat to Atletico, and Carrick has retained the midfield pairing of Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba, with Amad returning to the side. Rashford and Cunha drop to the bench. Shaw’s absence further highlights the controversy around United’s decision not to bring in left-back reinforcements in the summer.
Justin quietly having a year to remember
While Okafor grabs the headlines, Leeds defender James Justin has been one of the Premier League’s most complete performers in 2026. He has scored three league goals this calendar year, with only two defenders managing more, and his underlying numbers are striking: 72 tackles, 155 duels won and 289.9 kilometres covered in the Premier League in 2026 — ranking him third for tackles, fourth for duels won and third for distance covered across the calendar year.
What the April meeting told us
Leeds’ 2-1 win at Old Trafford in April was more than a smash-and-grab. Despite enjoying less possession, Farke’s side registered an expected goals figure of 2.57 to United’s 1.27, underlining the quality of the chances they created. Reproducing that clinical edge on home soil is the task on Sunday, and the table context adds spice: for the first time in this fixture since September 2002, excluding a season’s opening matchday, Leeds go into the meeting above United in the Premier League table.
The verdict from the pundits
Sky Sports’ betting expert Lewis Jones, aka Jones Knows, has made Leeds his best bet of the weekend at 13/10 with Sky Bet, predicting a 2-0 home win. “It doesn’t exactly take a Tony Bloom-like figure to work out that Leeds are a bet at these prices,” he wrote, arguing that “the chaos at Old Trafford right now makes the odds-against price about a Leeds victory particularly appealing.”
His reasoning leans on the same themes the stats confirm: a United side he describes as fragile and disjointed against opponents who bring relentless intensity, and an Elland Road atmosphere he expects to make home advantage key. “United have shown this season that they struggle when opponents take the game to them physically and emotionally,” Jones wrote.
For Leeds, the opportunity is plain. Win, and they make it consecutive league victories over Manchester United for the first time in more than half a century, extend an unbeaten home run that dates back months, and push further clear of their visitors in the table. For United, defeat would deepen a crisis Carrick insists is a matter of perspective — but which the league table, and the history books, are starting to write differently.
FAQ
When is Leeds vs Manchester United?
The Premier League fixture kicks off at 14:00 BST on Sunday 18 October 2026 at Elland Road.
Who starts for Manchester United against Leeds?
Lisandro Martinez starts despite his controversial midweek criticism of the club’s hierarchy, with Andrey Santos and Carlos Baleba retained in midfield, Amad returning, and Marcus Rashford and Matheus Cunha on the bench. Luke Shaw misses out, with Leny Yoro set to feature at right-back and Diogo Dalot on the left.
What is Leeds' record against Manchester United recently?
Leeds ended a run of ten Premier League games without a win against United with a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford in April 2026, when Noah Okafor scored twice. A win on Sunday would give Leeds consecutive league victories over United for the first time since the 1971/72 season.
How have Manchester United started the 2026/27 season?
United have won two of their nine games in all competitions this season and collected six points from their opening six Premier League matches — their lowest tally after six league games since 1986/87. They have also failed to keep a clean sheet in their opening six league matches for a second consecutive season.