Manchester United are set to make the trip to Elland Road on Sunday to take on Leeds, and the Reds will hold a major advantage during the match given the Peacocks will be without a key player
Ethan Ampadu will miss Leeds vs Manchester United on Sunday, in a major boost for Ruben Amorim’s Reds. The Peacocks’ skipper picked up his fifth yellow card of the season against Liverpool earlier this week, and will now have to serve a one-match suspension.
That will ultimately rule him out for Sunday’s clash at Elland Road, giving United an advantage as they look to climb the Premier League table. The midfielder had been on four yellows since a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa in November, keeping his nose incredibly clean in the weeks which followed.
However, that crucial fifth caution landed on New Year’s Day, during a goalless draw at Anfield. Chris Kavanagh made the decision to book Ampadu midway through the second-half of the encounter, seeing a handball on the edge of his own area as deliberate.
Replays show that the ball hit the sleeve of Ampadu’s shirt, which would typically not be deemed as an offence, but for one reason or another, Kavanagh saw matters differently. And as a result of racking up five bookings in the Premier League’s first 19 matches, he will now be forced to sit out against Manchester United.
The Reds have been in fine form under Amorim this season, currently sitting sixth in the Premier League standings with a tally of eight wins, six draws and five losses to show for their efforts. However, fans will be disappointed that the club were unable to secure victory over a rock-bottom Wolves earlier this week, despite thrashing the Midlands-based club 4-1 in the reverse just weeks prior.
Joshua Zirkzee opened the scoring for the hosts on Tuesday at Old Trafford from the edge of the box, his left-footed effort taking a deflection which wrong-footed Jose Sa and bobbled into the back of the net.
However, Rob Edwards ultimately managed to guide his struggling side to a point away from home on the night thanks to Ladislav Krejci’s strike at the turn of half-time. The centre-half was left unmarked at the back post from a corner, connecting with Zirkzee’s botched clearance with his head before wheeling off in celebration.
When asked about a lack of creativity during the encounter, Amorim told reporters in his post-match press conference: “No, I think we are in one situation that you have a lot of players out in the same time. Of course, when you play Casemiro and [Manuel] Ugarte, in the middle, you know that is different.
“When you have Kobbie Mainoo or Mason Mount or Bruno [Fernandes], that is normal. So, we just need to recover our players, the players from AFCON to return, and then the fluidity is going to be different.
“But again, we won the last one. Today, we could [have] won with the players that we have. We had lack of fluidity, and then lack of quality, and then lack of creation of chances.
“And then we suffer a goal with set-pieces with the team that, and [yet] we are tall in this moment. So, these details are important to win these games in difficult moments.”
It comes as United headed into their clash against Wolves a little light in terms of players thanks to injury and the Africa Cup Of Nations. Mason Mount, Bruno Fernandes, Mainoo, Harry Maguire and Matthijs de Ligt all missed the encounter through their respective injuries, while Amad, Bryan Mbeumo and Noussair Mazraoui are currently competing at AFCON.
Amorim will hope that at least Mount, Fernandes and Mainoo are fit to play a part against Leeds this weekend, in a clash which could make or break European qualification for 2026/27. It’s tight at the top of the table as things stand, with Sunderland, Everton and Brentford able to leapfrog United this weekend should results go their way and against the Reds.
Sky Sports discounted Premier League and EFL package
Sky has slashed the price of its Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle for the 2025/26 season, saving members £336 and offering more than 1,400 live matches across the Premier League, EFL and more.
Sky will show at least 215 live Premier League games this season, an increase of up to 100 more.
2026-01-02 10:00:17
