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Leeds United, potentially minus boss Daniel Farke on the sidelines, welcome Sunderland on Tuesday evening in the second of three successive home fixtures-a clash between two freshly-promoted Premier League outfits. Farke will serve a touchline suspension after receiving a straight red card for his post-match tirade following Leeds' slender 1-0 reverse to Manchester City on Saturday.

That setback arrived mere hours after Sunderland were held to a 1-1 stalemate away at Bournemouth.

Leeds had been fancied by many to challenge Manchester City, particularly with Erling Haaland absent through injury, having recently claimed points against both Chelsea and Aston Villa. Nevertheless, Antoine Semenyo rose to the occasion for City, netting the decisive goal at Elland Road and delivering Pep Guardiola's side all three points.

Farke's exasperation with the officials-allegedly over apparent time-wasting by City-reached boiling point, securing him a red card from referee Peter Bankes and excluding him from the dugout for the Sunderland encounter.

Despite witnessing their four-game unbeaten streak conclude in agonising fashion, Leeds remain six points ahead of West Ham United in the relegation scrap, a reflection of their remarkable resurgence since winter's arrival. Saturday's reverse represented merely their third defeat in 16 fixtures across all competitions since December, although defensive vulnerabilities persist-Leeds have shipped goals in 10 of their previous 11 matches, only keeping a clean sheet against Fulham, reports the Mirror.

Last season, Leeds finished 24 points ahead of Sunderland in the Championship, but the Black Cats now arrive at Elland Road with a six-point advantage over their hosts in the current Premier League table. Regis Le Bris's side could have extended that margin to eight points last weekend when Eliezer Mayenda broke the deadlock at Bournemouth, but Evanilson's late header earned a draw for the Cherries.

Whilst Sunderland ended a three-game losing streak in the league with that point, a fourth match without victory has damaged their hopes of a European challenge. Nevertheless, they remain nearer to the top four than to the relegation zone in terms of points.

Their away form, however, remains a worry-Sunderland are without victory in their last nine Premier League away games, with five defeats and four draws since their shock triumph over Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in October.

When these two sides last met, they played out a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light in December, extending Sunderland's winless run against Leeds to four matches. The Black Cats' last victory in this fixture came in December 2023, when Jobe Bellingham scored the decisive goal.

Leeds to win to nil - 2/1 (William Hill)

Dominic Calvert-Lewin to score anytime - 6/5 (William Hill)

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Leeds presently boast considerable depth regarding team selection, with Noah Okafor their sole injury casualty as he continues his recovery from the hamstring problem he sustained in the FA Cup. He is anticipated to remain sidelined for a further fortnight.

Following their spirited display against Manchester City on Saturday, the suspended boss Farke may choose to retain the identical starting XI, assuming none of his squad are suffering from undue fatigue.

Nevertheless, should Farke elect to rest the injury-prone Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Lukas Nmecha is on hand as an alternative striker. In the engine room, Ao Tanaka and Sean Longstaff are both candidates to deputise for Ilia Gruev, who endured a below-par showing in the preceding fixture.

For Sunderland, circumstances remain unaltered on the injury landscape, as gaffer Le Bris confirmed no fresh concerns following Saturday's stalemate with Bournemouth. However, there are no comebacks from the treatment facility either, signifying the side will persist without Dennis Cirkin (thigh), Reinildo Mandava (knee), Romaine Mundle (thigh), Brian Brobbey (groin), Nordi Mukiele (calf), and Jocelin Ta Bi (ankle).

These absences notably restrict Sunderland's alternatives in wide areas.

Skipper Trai Hume will probably need to fill in at left-back once more, whilst Bertrand Traore and Nilson Angulo could both be contemplated to assume Chemsdine Talbi's position in the attack.

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