"There are so many unknowns" - Chris Sutton makes bold prediction for Leeds United vs Manchester United

Footballer-turned-pundit Chris Sutton has made a bold prediction for Manchester United's upcoming trip to Elland Road to face Leeds United.

The two sides played out a highly entertaining 2-2 draw at Old Trafford in midweek and will now face off again just four days later on Sunday, February 12.

Leeds are currently without a full-time manager following Jesse Marsch's sacking earlier this week. Caretaker boss Michael Skubala is managing the proceedings for now and was in charge of the Old Trafford matchup as well.

Sutton, while writing in his column for the BBC, revealed that he didn't expect the Whites to take anything home from their midweek encounter against Manchester United. However, now that they have managed to earn a point, he sees them going all the way in the home fixture.

He feels the home fans will play a crucial role as Leeds register a 2-1 win.

"I always felt Leeds United had a little bit about them, performance-wise, under Jesse Marsch, which is why I felt sorry for him when he was sacked this week. I didn't feel as if they would definitely get relegated under him, but five of the bottom six teams have now changed their manager this season and Leeds had not won a league game for a while."

He added:

"Caretaker boss Michael Skubala helped them get a point at Old Trafford on Wednesday but it's possible a new manager could be appointed before this game. I didn't expect them to get anything against Manchester United in midweek but they got off to an absolute flyer and were just about able to hang on for a draw at the end."

He further elaborated:

"It's very difficult to predict this game because there are so many unknowns - Wednesday night showed that anything could happen, and you could make a case for either side to win it whether Skubala is still in charge or not."

"I am going to go with Leeds, though. They have got some good players and they are going to have a day soon where they do more than just perform for patches of the 90 minutes."

He also said:

"Their fans will make a difference too, because Elland Road will be absolutely bouncing. I guess we will probably see a fragile Leeds too at some point of the game, and I don't trust their backline so I think Manchester United will score - but the home crowd can help their team through it."

Manchester United hoping to close the gap on Manchester City and Arsenal

Manchester United had a golden opportunity to close the gap with Manchester City and Arsenal, who are the only two sides above them in the Premier League table when they welcomed Leeds on Wednesday.

However, they could only get a point from the match, and will now want to return to winning ways immediately at Elland Road. The Red Devils are currently third with 43 points after 22 matches, two points off the Cityzens who have a game in hand.

Arsenal, on the other hand, are leading the table with 50 points in 20 matches.