Leeds United will host Sheffield United in a huge Yorkshire Derby, with both teams angling to continue strong starts against tough opposition.

Chris Wilder, Sheffield United Manager, spoke of the opposing team’s performance at the pre-game press conference.

He said: “They’re favourites to win the league, and rightly so. I’m not trying to pile anything on them; they know, and their fans know, they have to go up.

“They possibly should’ve gone up last year but didn’t.”

Sheffield United remain unbeaten so far in this league, and Leeds United requires a good performance to “break them down”.

Daniel Farke, manager of Leeds United, expresses his disappointment about the game happening during an international break from a lack of preparation against the other team.

He said: “We have players who arrive late today, and once we play on Saturday, you have at least one training session with the team. It’s only possible for some players to have a recovery session tomorrow.

“Normally both teams want to be at their best; Friday evening is a bit disappointing. We know about the schedule list, and for that, there are no complaints.”

Sheffield United should have few notable absences, with Oliver Arblaster expected to return to the first team after an ankle injury.

Leeds United, however, continue to manage a host of injuries, including club captain Ethan Ampadu, Ilia Gruev, and Maximilian Wöber.

Farke said: “It’s tricky with injuries, but I can just praise the lads for what they’ve done so far because we are on a good path but have to stay awake and make sure we’re competitive.”

The Lily Whites will be coming off the back of a disappointing draw to Sunderland, due to a devastating individual error from Leeds goalkeeper, Illian Meslier.

Leeds United have won both of the previous encounters in the Yorkshire derby in the 2020/21 Premier League campaign, where both United teams competed and the Blades only accumulated 23 points.

For more sports stories, click here.