NEIL GREWER

With Sunderland leading the league, this game appears to be Leeds United’s most difficult one of the season thus far.

Since that FA Cup final in 1973 was the first Leeds game I ever recall watching in its whole, I personally detest playing Sunderland since pre-match analysis and commentators often bring it up.

Ethan Ampadu, Ilia Gruev, Dan James, Manor Solomon, and other squad members’ ailments make this game more difficult.

The team is overworked and won’t need much time to heal after Norwich.

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In the overall scheme of things at Carrow, Daniel Farke would consider a tie to be a respectable outcome.

I’m starting to get serious concerns about corners.

Since we last scored from a corner, we have now taken over 150, and to make matters worse, the opponents at Norwich broke twice from our corners in a dangerous manner.

This is easily fixed; it’s not complicated.

Set pieces are a critical element of the game yet our biggest weakness in an offensive perspective.

Prediction: Sunderland 1 Leeds United 1.

ANDY RHODES

Daniel Farke’s team travels to Sunderland tonight for their second difficult road game in four days.

Despite an increasingly serious injury issue, the point earned at Norwich City may not have been immediately apparent.

Daniel Farke will need to swiftly turn his squad around by identifying some answers inside his own ranks.

Largie Ramazani and Willy Gnonto had their former brightness back.

He cannot afford to pull Leeds players off the pitch if they are looking for a win tonight.

More is needed from Leeds’ strikers, and Joe Rodon will be hoping to recover after an atypically unsteady showing against Norwich.

Sunderland will provide the Whites with a formidable task because they haven’t given up a goal at home this year.

These are exactly the kind of games they need to win to stake their claim for promotion.

Will Leeds have enough in the tank, or are their injury worries too much against a young and hungry home side?

Prediction: Sunderland 2 Leeds United 0.

DAVID WATKINS

Based on recent outcomes, it appears that the Championship is even more unpredictable than it was before.

This week, we witnessed high-flying Watford humiliated by lowly Preston just days after defeating current leaders and our next opponents, Sunderland, and former leaders West Brom lose to Middlesbrough at home.

A few days prior, we had smashed an unimpressive Sky Blues team by the same score, and now Coventry City upset previously unbeaten Blackburn Rovers 3-0. Everything is puzzling!

Leeds, on the other hand, has had a fairly predictable season thus far. We’ve played well in every game and, aside from some strange matches against Pompey and Burnley where the outcomes hardly matched the performances, we’ve gotten the results supporters were expecting, including this week’s draw at Norwich, where the Canaries haven’t lost at Carrow Road in nearly a year.

What can we anticipate at Sunderland, then? All signs point to another challenging match.

The Black Cats are unbeaten at home and have not let up a goal at the Stadium of Light. Leeds, on the other hand, are unbeaten away from home and have only let up one goal—a penalty on Tuesday against Norwich—on the road.

Logic suggests a bet on a 0-0 draw ought to be profitable.

Prediction: Sunderland 0 Leeds United 0.

KEITH INGHAM

So, Leeds have to plan for the foreseeable future without the services of club captain Ethan Ampadu, sidelined with a knee injury.

Daniel Farke must wonder how his side will cope without one of the stars of last season.

He is already without Dan James, another key player from last season.

It’s up to Rothwell and Ao Tanaka to step from the bench and hopefully our captain won’t be missed too much.

Tuesday saw Leeds come away with a point at Norwich City. City were ahead thanks to a penalty. Largie Ramazani scored in the second half to earn a good point away from home. Unfortunately, they also lost Ilia Gruev early in the game.

Farke is having no luck with injuries. Rothwell and AO will hopefully stay fit or Leeds may be in big trouble in the middle of the park.

Sunderland have four wins from four home games and beat Derby County on Tuesday 2-0.

Last season they beat Leeds 1-0 with a goal from Jobe Bellingham.

With injuries seriously hampering the manager this may be one the fans take on the chin as I see Sunderland being a bit too strong, especially at home. A draw is the best I can hope for but I think we may be disappointed.

Prediction: Sunderland 2 Leeds United 1.

MIKE GILL

Following a merited away draw at Carrow Road, United heads to Wearside for a much more difficult challenge.

With everything on the line, the Stadium of Light will be loud and crowded for this match, but I don’t think the well-prepared Whites will be intimidated by the huge event.

The issue of midfield injuries is particularly concerning. Given that Ethan Ampadu has already missed a significant amount of time, Ilia Gruev’s injury on Tuesday was devastating.

They managed quite well without the reliable Bulgarian international, but we’re all waiting to hear more about how severe his trauma was. Sunderland, who have had a great start to the season, easily defeated Derby on Tuesday while United struggled in Norwich.

In the Championship, a draw would keep things as they are, even if a win for the Whites would still be a significant accomplishment. The top six teams are separated by three points.

The teams who can exhibit some consistency will be the ones making the decisions in this division as the current season progresses.

Willy Gnonto, Brenden Aaronson, Joe Rodon, Junior Firpo, Pascal Struijk, and Ilan Meslier have all consistently delivered excellent performances, and I’m rooting for them to keep doing so.