Sunderland got out to an early lead on Sunday, but Dominic Calvert-Lewin became the first Leeds player to score a goal in six straight Premier League games early in the second half and rescued a point as both newly promoted sides inched closer to safety.
WATCH — Sunderland v Leeds full match replay
Simon Adingra opened the scoring in the 28th minute when Granit Xhaka played a brilliant through ball into the left channel, finding the Ivory Coast international for a superb curling finish. It was 1-0 through halftime but Leeds were level less than two minutes after the restart. Anton Stach started a counter-attack with a through ball to USMNT midfielder Brendan Aaronson and he played a perfect near-post cross from the right wing to find Calvert-Lewin, and the big target man smashed it home.
The result means Sunderland (28 points) slip one place in the PL table this weekend, down to 7th after Manchester United won on Friday to go 6th; a win would have put the Black Cats 5th, also ahead of Chelsea. Leeds (20 points) are 16th, only two places but now seven points clear of the relegation zone (West Ham in 18th).
What’s next?
- Liverpool vs Leeds — Thursday, 12:30 pm ET
- Sunderland vs Manchester City — Thursday, 3 pm ET
Sunderland vs Leeds live updates - by Andy Edwards
Sunderland vs Leeds final score: 1-1
Goalscorers: Simon Adingra (29'), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (47')
GOAL! Sunderland 1-1 Leeds: Calvert-Lewin scores for the sixth game in a row (47')
GOAL! Sunderland 1-0 Leeds: Xhaka threads Adingra through for a fine finish (29')
Sunderland starting lineup
Roefs - Mukiele, Cirkin, Alderete, Geertruida - Xhaka, Le Fee, Rigg - Hume, Adingra, Brobbey
Leeds starting lineup
Perri - Rodon, Bijol, Struijk - Bogle, Aaronson, Ampadu, Stach, Gudmundsson - Calvert-Lewin, Okafor
How to watch Sunderland vs Leeds live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 9am ET Sunday (December 28)
Venue: Stadium of Light — Sunderland
TV Channel: USA
Streaming: Watch live on NBC.com
Regis Le Bris’ side drew away at Brighton last time out as they’re on 27 points and sitting close to the top four. The Black Cats have shocked everyone so far but they have lost a lot of key players to AFCON so their squad will be stretched over the next few weeks.
Leeds are back on track in a big way under Daniel Farke as they beat Crystal Palace 4-1 last time out and are four games unbeaten as they’re now six points above the relegation zone. That run has included an impressive win against Chelsea and draw against Liverpool at home and the next step is for Leeds to improve their away form.
Sunderland team news, focus
Habib Diarra, Noah Sadiki, Reinildo, Arthur Masuaku, Bertrand Traore and Chemsdine Talbi are all away at AFCON, while Luke O’Nien is suspended. All of that means that Le Bris will lean heavily on Brian Brobbey to lead the attack and Enzo Le Fee and Simon Adingra will support him.
Leeds team news, focus
Daniel James and Sean Longstaff are out injured, while Lukas Nmecha is a doubt as Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Noah Okafor will lead the line. Leeds have a very settled team at this point and Farke has found a way to create more chances in a 3-5-2 formation that is working very well.
Sunderland vs Leeds prediction
This feels like a draw and both teams will be happy enough with that considering the players Sunderland are missing and Leeds are away from home. Sunderland 1-1 Leeds.
