Preview: Leeds United vs Liverpool - prediction, team news, lineups

Aiming to extend their unbeaten Premier League run to three games - which would be a noteworthy achievement right now - Liverpool hit the road to face newly-promoted Leeds United at Elland Road on Saturday.

Arne Slot's men escaped with a point from a 1-1 draw with Sunderland on Wednesday, but the Whites stunned title outsiders Chelsea in a 3-1 home success.

Match preview

It took 14 gameweeks for Liverpool to play out their first draw of the 2025-26 Premier League season, but had it not been for a heroic defensive intervention from an unlikely source, the Reds could have been dissecting a seventh top-flight loss of the term.

Deflected strikes from Chemsdine Talbi and Florian Wirtz - the latter of which went down as a Nordi Mukiele own goal - led to a share of the spoils between the Reds and the Black Cats, but Slot was indebted to Federico Chiesa for blocking Wilson Isidor's late goal-bound effort.

Neither Arsenal nor Chelsea have got the better of surprise package Sunderland this season - the Blues even lost at home to Regis Le Bris's men - so a midweek point is hardly catastrophic for Liverpool, although it has inevitably triggered heightened speculation around Slot's future once again.

However, Liverpool are still believed to have no plans to sack the Dutchman, whose side at least enter gameweek 15 in the top half of the Premier League table, albeit a whopping 11 points behind title favourites Arsenal.

Nevertheless, if the visitors can avoid defeat on Saturday, it will mark the first time since September that the Reds have gone unbeaten in three straight matches, as well as avoiding another hit to the morale before a daunting Champions League clash with Inter Milan.

Leeds have not managed to take the Premier League by storm in the same manner as Sunderland since their return to the big time, but Daniel Farke took a leaf out of Le Bris's book when Chelsea paid a visit to Elland Road in midweek.

For the second time this season, the Club World Cup winners were bested by a newly-promoted team, as Jaka Bijol, Ao Tanaka and Dominic Calvert-Lewin propelled the Whites to a stunning midweek success.

Farke's men had already threatened a captivating comeback at Manchester City with a new system in the second half, and the former Norwich City boss tried out that 3-5-2 formula from the first whistle to devastating effect on Wednesday.

Moreover, Leeds' triumph - which snapped a four-game losing run - has launched them out of the relegation zone and into 17th place, although West Ham United can bump them back down into the bottom three by beating Manchester United by at least two goals on Thursday.

Leeds' last full season in the Premier League also saw the Whites stun Liverpool 2-1 at Anfield in October 2022, but the merciless Reds gained revenge with a 6-1 Elland Road embarrassment in April 2023, and they have not lost on their hosts' turf for 25 years.

Leeds United Premier League form:

Liverpool Premier League form:

Liverpool form (all competitions):

Team News

Prior to the draw with Sunderland, Slot expressed hope that Conor Bradley would return from a muscular injury in time to face Leeds, but Jeremie Frimpong (thigh) and Giovanni Leoni (ACL) will not be involved at Elland Road.

Bradley's return would be especially timely, as Joe Gomez will surely not be considered for a third start in the space of a week, although Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai are other options at right-back.

The latter could very well be rested anyway, allowing Mohamed Salah to return to his rightful place in attack, where Chiesa has surely done all he can for a rare start too.

Celebration has quickly turned to concern for Leeds, though, as Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha are both serious doubts for the game on Saturday with calf and hamstring problems respectively.

Joel Piroe and Noah Okafor may therefore have to step in up front, and Farke has also cast doubt on whether Tanaka will be able to start again so soon.

James Justin - only a substitute on Wednesday after taking a knock at the Etihad - will push for a recall, but neither Jayden Bogle nor Gabriel Gudmundsson should give up their places.

Daniel James (hamstring) and Sean Longstaff (calf) remain out.

Leeds United possible starting lineup:

Perri; Rodon, Bijol, Struijk; Bogle, Stach, Gruev, Ampadu, Gudmundsson; Piroe, Okafor

Liverpool possible starting lineup:

Alisson; Bradley, Konate, Van Dijk, Robertson; Gravenberch, Jones; Salah, Wirtz, Chiesa; Ekitike

We say: Leeds United 2-2 Liverpool

Liverpool could have had few complaints if Sunderland had prevailed in midweek, and confidently predicting which version of the Reds will show up on a weekly basis is a fool's errand.

One thing that is for certain is that Leeds could hardly be more fired up for the visit of the wounded holders, and they have every chance of claiming a point with their new, highly effective system, although their defensive frailties may prevent them from taking all three.

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