Sunderland vs Leeds United analysis: Five key battles and score prediction
The Stadium of Light hosts one of the marquee Championship fixtures of the season as leaders Sunderland host Leeds United.
Sunderland enter this fixture unbeaten at home this season and without having conceded a home goal.
These victories have not come at the expense of the lower half of the Championship either with victories over Burnley and Middlesborough coming at the Stadium of Light.
The Black Cats beat Derby convincingly 2-0 in midweek and have positioned themselves a single point clear at the top.
Leeds travel to the North East having salvaged a draw away to Norwich but yet again falling victim to further injury worries.
Ilja Gruev limped off in the first half at Carrow Road, further compounding the misery in the centre of the park for Leeds after the news of Ethan Ampadu’s injury keeping him out of the side until at least January.
Nonetheless, Leeds are still unbeaten away from home picking up wins against Sheffield Wednesday and Cardiff with hard fought points at the Hawthorns and Carrow Road.
Despite the injury concerns, no doubt the Whites will have the confidence to continue their away form and push for all three points here.
Last season’s fixtures saw Sunderland take four points from Leeds with a Jobe Bellingham late winner seeing the Black Cats take all the points at the Stadium of Light and some questionable officiating at Elland Road allowing for the North East side to survive with a point.
Here, Sports News Blitz writer Samuel Leasley considers five key battles for the Friday fixture at the Stadium of Light.
Regis Le Bris vs Daniel Farke
Opening with two managers who favour attacking approaches and will no doubt look to play the game on the front foot in order to secure the points in this fixture.
Regis Le Bris is still a fairly unknown quantity to English football following a career primarily stemming through French Youth football.
His ‘professional’ coaching career has only just passed two years following a short spell at Lorient which concluded with the side’s relegation to Ligue 2.
Despite this lack of first team coaching experience, Le Bris has led Sunderland to a blistering start to the campaign and will be looking to take a further victim from the Championship’s big names with arguably the biggest coup of the all, Leeds United.
Le Bris has favoured a 4-3-3 system for the Black Cats, packing his midfield with youthful energy and quality with the trio of Chris Rigg, Jobe Bellingham and Dan Neil pulling the strings in the side.
The side also has a terrific efficiency in front of goal scoring 16 times from 32 shots on target for an average of a goal every two shots on target.
This efficiency carried by the forward line is a testament to Le Bris’ system in which the quality of the chance is favoured over erratic shots on goal.
Daniel Farke’s system will no doubt remain unchanged when entering this fixture yet the German has decisions to make with regards to the absences of Ilja Gruev and Ethan Ampadu.
It is likely that Joe Rothwell with partner Ao Tanaka in a new look midfield pairing for the Whites and Farke will hope this alteration blossoms due to the severity of Ampadu’s injury in particular.
Losing your club captain, and previously ever present player, is never an easy fix and it is likely that the side will notice the absence of Ampadu as the commander of midfield.
Pascal Struijk is the likely candidate to take the armband and lead the Whites out at the Stadium of Light.
Farke is likely to keep the same attacking quartet that started the midweek fixture against Norwich with the German hoping his wide players can have the same impact they have showcased in recent weeks.
It will likely be a challenge to Farke’s system on Friday, with Le Bris preferring a midfield overload, which could lead to Brendan Aaronson being isolated or crowded out should Leeds choose to play to Aaronson’s feet.
Farke’s possible crutch to this system could be the deployment of his full backs higher up the pitch to steal the attention of the wide central midfielders to open up a one on one for Aaronson against Dan Neil.
The battle between Le Bris and Farke remains an intriguing one with both preferring to play on the front foot, however, don’t be surprised if Sunderland regress backwards and look to catch the Whites on the counter.
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Anthony Patterson vs Illan Meslier
In a match-up with an incredible number of attacking talents one area in particular that could possibly decide the fixture is the goalkeeping department.
Manchester United linked Patterson has accumulated five clean sheets this season and will look to continue his 100% record in home fixtures so far.
This fixture will be the Sunderland youth academy product’s 120 th appearance for the club at just the age of 24.
Patterson has kept two clean sheets in his previous two appearances against Leeds and following his recent good form and top shot stopping ability don’t be surprised if he keeps the Leeds attack at bay.
A notable weakness of Patterson’s game, and one that also translates to his opposite number, is his distribution and commanding his area when coming for crosses.
Should Leeds maintain their high press throughout the 90, Patterson will need to be careful with clearing the ball preventing any turnovers in his third of the pitch.
Illan Meslier, as previously mentioned, possesses many similarities to Patterson and his style of play.
In recent weeks, Meslier has come under fire for his distribution and the lack of urgency when releasing the ball for counter attacks.
Should Sunderland choose to match the press provided by Leeds both goalkeepers will need to take extra caution when playing out from the back.
The Frenchman, alongside his opposite number, has also accumulated five clean sheets this season and he is yet to concede an away goal this season from open play.
However, despite conceding one fewer goal than Patterson this season Meslier has made only 12 saves across the season as opposed to Patterson’s 23.
If both keepers are on form, this attacking affair could be reduced to a low scoring one, however, one record is likely to go on Friday and both sides will hope it falls in their favour.
Patrick Roberts vs Largie Ramazani
Two creative forces that will be crossing paths on the same wing are Patrick Roberts and Largie Ramazani.
Roberts enters this fixture with four goal contributions in his opening eight appearances with a goal from the penalty spot away to Plymouth and three assists on the board.
He also possesses an incredible 87% accuracy in the Championship so far which showcases his immense quality on the ball in the final third.
Roberts has been a staple of the Sunderland side since his arrival in January 2022 and has developed a reputation of turning up in big matches, such as scoring the winner in the play-off semi final in 2022 on route to Sunderland’s promotion from League 1.
In partnership with Romaine Mundle, Roberts provides quality down the flanks that will no doubt trouble Junior Firpo and the rest of the Leeds defence.
For the away side, Largie Ramazani has been in top form with two goals and an assist in three games, most recently netting the equaliser at Carrow Road.
Ramazani has successfully filled the space left by the injured Manor Solomon and Dan James and has appeared as an almost like for like replacement for the departed Crysencio Summerville.
Ramazani will look to trouble full-back Trai Hume, who already has four yellow cards to his name this season, and provide a fourth goal contribution in as many games.
Typically Leeds’ goals come via a wide influence and Sunderland will need to monitor the threat of Ramazani whilst also looking to distribute the ball past the Leeds press towards danger men such as Roberts.
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Dennis Cirkin vs Wilfried Gnonto
Dennis Cirkin has arguably been the most important factor in Sunderland’s success so far this season due to his defensive stability alongside his offensive contributions.
Cirkin has provided both a goal and an assist from left-back alongside his role in the Black Cats’ five clean sheets this season.
Cirkin has made a staggering 20 interceptions in the opening eight games alongside winning 19 tackles, only committing nine fouls in that time.
No doubt this record will be tested by one of the Championship’s most fouled players in Willy Gnonto.
Gnonto has a goal and an assist in his previous two games and was arguably man of the match at Carrow Road, hitting the post and being denied a stone wall penalty as well as laying off for Ramazani to gain a point for the Whites.
Gnonto has been fouled 21 times in just eight games and has proved a constant annoyance for opposition defenders also committing 14 fouls in return.
In either defending or attacking, Cirkin will have Gnonto for company and the former England youth international will need to be on high alert to keep one of the most influential attacking players in the league quiet.
Expect cards to be brandished to either man in this encounter and expect the victor to swing the fixture in their side’s favour.
Jobe Bellingham vs Ao Tanaka
As previously mentioned when contrasting styles of play, a major factor in whoever wins this fixture is who can dominate the midfield battle.
It is no surprise hearing the name Bellingham when discussing midfield battles, but Jobe Bellingham possesses many of the qualities his brother does with regards his box to box midfield role.
He netted the winner the last time the two sides met at the Stadium of Light by braving diving in ahead of Illan Meslier to nod home the only goal.
Bellingham provides an extra attacking option for Sunderland, arriving late in the box to get onto the end of deliveries or hovering around the edge of the area to take long range efforts.
This threat was evident in Sunderland’s midweek victory over Derby with Bellingham scoring a screamer into the top left corner from 25 yards out.
The Sunderland man remains not just an attacking threat but a defensive anchor as well with him making the second most successful tackles in the side with 13 as well as third most interceptions with seven.
Ao Tanaka made his first start for Leeds in the away fixture against Norwich following Ethan Ampadu’s injury and due to further injury problems the Japanese midfielder will definitely start for Leeds on Friday.
So far Tanaka has developed a reputation on dropping into an anchor role in front of the back four, picking up the ball from Joe Rodon or Pascal Struijk and distributing it forward.
Tanaka currently possess the best passing accuracy in the Leeds side standing at 93% and no doubt will be the first port of call when Leeds look to play out from the back.
Time will tell if Tanaka can fill the boots left by Ampadu, however, the Japanese international, seemingly, has the tools and the ability to stifle the attacking midfield threat of Rigg and Bellingham and will look to cement his place in the first team for the distant future.
This will no doubt be an attacking clash between the two sides and with the quality both sides possess both on the front foot and on the counter it remains difficult to predict.
I feel a single goal will decide this game and due to many shots on goal not going in on Tuesday for the Whites I feel they will make up for it at the Stadium of Light.
Score prediction: Sunderland 0-1 Leeds United
