Leeds v Sunderland: Key stats and talking points

This is the first Premier League meeting between Leeds and Sunderland at Elland Road since August 2002, which the visitors won 1-0.

Leeds will kick-off six points behind their fellow promoted opponents, and six points above the bottom three with 10 games remaining.

Improved Leeds still leaking goals

When Leeds lost all four of their matches in November to drop into the relegation zone, few would have predicted they would only suffer three further defeats across the ensuing three months.

Those losses, spanning 15 games, have come against Champions League sides Newcastle,Arsenal and, on Saturday, Manchester City. Leeds' tally of 20 points during that period ranks them 10th in the division, just a point behind Chelsea.

Nonetheless, there is work to do to stay in the division. Notably, Daniel Farke's side have the worst defensive record outside the current bottom three, conceding 47 goals and only keeping two clean sheets in their past 25 top-flight matches.

That is despite making the fewest errors leading to shots (14) of any team in the Premier League and only facing the eighth-highest number of shots.

One statistic overwhelmingly in Leeds' favour is their home record in night-time fixtures. Though they lost their 5.30pm kick-off against Manchester City at the weekend, the Whites are unbeaten at Elland Road in 22 league games starting at 7pm or later since April 2023. They have won 19 of those, including the past 13 by an aggregate score of 33-7.

Beware the slides of March

Sunderland's season is on a downward trajectory; they earned 17 points from their first nine matches to briefly go second in the table, but have since only added 20 points from 19 fixtures.

They have won just two of their past 12 league games, but did at least stop a run of three straight defeats by drawing away to in-form Bournemouth on Saturday.

No team has been relegated with Sunderland's current tally of 37 points or more since Newcastle a decade ago. Nonetheless, the Black Cats would welcome a change of luck in March as they seek to end runs of nine Premier League away games, and as many midweek matches, without a win.

Perhaps most disconcerting for Sunderland is that they are winless in 17 top-flight games played in the month of March since beating QPR 3-1 in 2012 (D9, L8). In Premier League history, only Leicester City and Fulham have endured longer winless streaks in a particular month.