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Former English top-flight defender Mark Lawrenson believes Leeds United’s clash with Manchester United will be a closely fought encounter that will end in victory for the Red Devils.
The two rival clubs have had good seasons so far. Manchester United are currently second in the Premier League, while Leeds United occupy tenth place.
Marcelo Bielsa’s men were hammered by Manchester United in the reverse fixture as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side secured a 6-2 win.
In his column for the BBC, Lawrenson wrote:
“Manchester United smashed Leeds 6-2 at Old Trafford earlier in the season, but I think it will be much closer this time.
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“Leeds have gone five games unbeaten, and have taken points off teams like Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool in that time, but Manchester United are on a good run themselves, with five straight wins in all competitions since they went out of the FA Cup to Leicester.
“Mason Greenwood and Edinson Cavani are both looking dangerous in attack for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side and, defensively, I think Manchester United will deal with Leeds better than Liverpool did on Monday. They should edge it.”
Leeds United will look to upset Manchester United
Leeds United’s tactics did not work well against Manchester United in the reverse fixture. They failed to deal with the Red Devils’ counter-attacking threat and collapsed.
The Whites dominated possession against Liverpool in their last game and are not expected to change their high-intensity approach.
Unlike Bielsa’s first season in charge of the club, Leeds United have still not run out of gas this season and are expected to provide a strong test come Sunday.
Confidence is high in the Leeds ranks right now. If they can manage a good run of results in the coming weeks, they could yet qualify for the Europa League.
Solskjaer and the Manchester United players will know that there is no room for error if they want to usurp Manchester City at the top of the table.
Although they have a big semi-final coming up next Thursday in the Europa League, Solskjaer is expected to play a full-strength team to ensure they keep up with Manchester City.
