Preview: Leeds United vs Crystal Palace - prediction, team news, lineups

Aiming to stretch their Premier League unbeaten run to a praiseworthy four matches, Leeds United host Crystal Palace at Elland Road on Saturday night.

The Whites came from behind to rescue a 1-1 draw with Brentford last weekend, but the Eagles only had themselves to blame in a 3-0 loss to Manchester City.

Match preview

Given a new lease of life since Daniel Farke implemented his new 3-5-2 system, Leeds extended their streak without defeat to a noteworthy three games at the Gtech Community Stadium, where Dominic Calvert-Lewin also prolonged his recent revival.

The ex-Everton forward scored for the fourth consecutive Premier League game in West London, cancelling out Jordan Henderson's opener in a hard-earned stalemate for Leeds, who could have perhaps counted themselves unfortunate not to claim all of the spoils.

Also sharing the points with Liverpool, defeating Chelsea and running Manchester City incredibly close over the last four gameweeks, Farke's side have done their survival prospects no harm whatsoever recently, and the 17th-placed hosts are now three points clear of the relegation zone in the Premier League table.

Calvert-Lewin's resurgence has epitomised a pleasing attacking trend for Leeds, who only scored 10 goals in their first 11 Premier League games of 2025-26, but they have equalled that tally in their last five, while also increasing their conversion rate by 6.7%.

Goals at both ends of the pitch have been the theme at Elland Road of late too, as Farke's side have scored and conceded in each of their last six Premier League home fixtures, netting and shipping multiple goals in four of those contests.

Crystal Palace should have found the back of the net in front of their own fans last weekend, but the Eagles cut profligate figures in front of goal and were punished to the maximum by Pep Guardiola's merciless men.

The FA Cup holders generated almost two Expected Goals against the Citizens, but their failure to get the final part right proved fatal, as two goals from Erling Haaland and a fine Phil Foden effort proved decisive.

Reeling from the loss of their three-match winning run across all tournaments, Oliver Glasner's side arrive in Yorkshire just outside the coveted top-four positions, sitting two points adrift of Chelsea and level with three sides below them in Sunderland, Liverpool and Manchester United.

Due to their Conference League and EFL Cup involvement, Palace would have only had one full day to recover from Thursday's European match against KuPS, which saw a juvenile, second-string team hold out for a 2-2 draw thanks to the help of some experienced reinforcements.

The Eagles now seek a repeat of their outstanding 5-1 victory over Leeds at Elland Road from the 2022-23 season, which would also create a new chapter of history; Palace have never beaten the Whites in back-to-back top-flight games before.

Leeds United Premier League form:

Crystal Palace Premier League form:

Crystal Palace form (all competitions):

Team News

Prior to the draw with Brentford, Farke expressed hope that Lukas Nmecha would recover from a hamstring strain in time for the visit of Crystal Palace, but he has now ruled the attacker out of this fixture.

Nmecha is one of three absentees for the home side, as Sean Longstaff (calf) and Daniel James (hamstring) will not be back this side of the New Year, so Farke will be working with an identical set of options from last weekend.

Regardless of who he partners up front, Calvert-Lewin will bid to become just the fourth Leeds man to score in five straight Premier League games, after Mark Viduka (twice), Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Rod Wallace.

As for Palace, the two-day break in between matches is not so brutal thanks to Glasner fielding a young XI for the Conference League clash, only introducing Tyrick Mitchell, Will Hughes, Eddie Nketiah, Marc Guehi and Jean-Philippe Mateta in the second half.

However, the Eagles are missing Daichi Kamada (thigh), Daniel Munoz (knee), Rio Cardines (knee), Cheick Doucoure (knee), Chadi Riad (knee), Caleb Kporha (back) and Ismaila Sarr, away on Africa Cup of Nations duty with Senegal.

Nketiah should therefore be given the nod to join Yeremy Pino in support of Mateta, while Hughes and Adam Wharton are poised to pair up in midfield following Kamada's blow against Man City.

Leeds United possible starting lineup:

Perri; Struijk, Rodon, Bijol; Bogle, Stach, Tanaka, Ampadu, Gudmundsson; Okafor, Calvert-Lewin

Crystal Palace possible starting lineup:

Henderson; Richards, Lacroix, Guehi; Clyne, Wharton, Hughes, Mitchell; Nketiah, Pino; Mateta

We say: Leeds United 2-2 Crystal Palace

Palace's Thursday-Saturday turnaround should not have too big a say on this game thanks to Glasner's rotations, but the FA Cup holders have demonstrated a lack of consistency while juggling continental and league commitments.

A revived and well-rested Leeds side are well-placed to take advantage, and we can envisage the spoils being shared at the end of an entertaining stalemate.

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