Manchester United vs Leeds United Match Analysis and Prediction

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Ole Solskjaer’s Manchester United will get their 2021-22 Premier League campaign underway with a home fixture against Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United in what is set to be a fiery and interesting clash at Old Trafford on Saturday with kickoff at 14:30.

Manchester united had a good run last season making progress again under Ole Gunner Solskjaer claiming second spot with 74 points, 12 points behind the eventual champions and neighbors Manchester City.

Despite finishing the season without any silverware, the Red Devils were impressive in various tournaments reaching the quarterfinals of the FA Cup, semifinals of the EFL Cup and the final of the Europa League. Thus, Solskjaer will be desperate to take the final step this campaign with the Norwegian being backed in the transfer market this summer.

Ole has opened doors for Jadon Sancho and Raphael Varane who have signed for United this summer with Solskjaer looking to put down a marker in the early stages of this campaign as the club will not face a genuine top-four rival in the league until they travel to Leicester City in the middle of October.

Covid-19 cases and late returns from the international duties interrupted Mancherster United’s pre-season but the team managed to play four warm-up friendlies with two wins, one draw and one defeat. They head into the match on the back of a 4-0 win against Everton last weekend, a game in which United put in a strong performance with Mason Greenwood, Harry Maguire, Bruno Fernandes and Diogo Dalot getting their names on the score sheet. Ole will now expect his side to carry that momentum to the Saturday’s clash as they look to open with a win in front of their funs.

Meanwhile, Leeds United also had a good run last season finishing ninth in the Premier League standings in their first season of their return to the top flight. The Whites were Indeed impressive as they finished with only six points off the Europa League positions, which is really impressive for a newly promoted side.

Their finishing form was also impressive as they only lost one of their last 11matches and won their final four to make it to the top half. Therefore, the team’s expectations will now be high ahead of the new campaign especially from their supporters which will bring new pressure this season.

The whites did not have an impressive preseason period as they played six friendlies recording one win, two draws and three defeats and will be heading into the match on the back of a 2-2 draw with Villarreal. It will be interesting to see how the they perform this season.

Manchester United are the favorites and will fancy their chances of on Saturday following their good home record against Leeds United as they have won eight of their last 13 meeting at Old Trafford with four draws while Leeds have only won once.

Manchester united vs Leeds United head to head

Both sides have met 28 times since 1994 with Manchester united claiming 16 victories while Leeds only claimed five victories and seven encounters ended in draw.

Leeds 0-0 Man United 25/04/21
Man United 6-2 Leeds 20/12/20
Man United 4-0 Leeds 17/07/19
Leeds 0-3 Man United 20/09/11
Man United 0-1 Leeds 03/01/10

Home

Man United 4-0 Everton
Man United 2-2 Brentford
QPR 4-2 Man United
Derby County 1-2 Man United
Villarreal 11-10 Man United (AP)

Away

Leeds 2-2 Villarreal
Ajax 4-0 Leeds
Leeds 2-3 Real Betis
Fleetwood 2-1 Leeds
Blackburn 1-1 Leeds

Manchester Unite team news

Manchester united will be without the services of several first-team players due to injuries including Marrcus Rashford, Alex Telles, Dean Henderson, Jessie Lingard, Phil Jones Eric Bailly and Amad Diallo. Edinson Cavani is also set to miss the match having been given extra time off following his involvement in the Copa America.