Leeds United is playing Sunderland, who they used to fight with for promotion in the Championship, this Sunday in the Premier League.

You just knew Leeds' game at Sunderland would be intense. Both teams, who battled for Championship promotion not long ago, are trying to keep up their good play since getting back into the Premier League.

Sunderland wanted to keep their winning streak going at home and keep pushing for a European spot, which has been surprisingly good. Leeds, coming to the Northeast, had a chance to keep their recent good form going. This has given their coach, Daniel Farke, some room away from being relegated and made fans think they can stay in the top league for more than just one season.

Early on, there was a scary moment for Farke when Joe Rodon, a key defender, went down after a challenge from Brian Brobbey. Nobody blamed Brobbey, but Michael Bridges, who used to play for Leeds, wondered if a second challenge on Rodon from Brobbey's teammate, Simon Adingra, should have been looked at by the VAR.

It looked like Adingra caught Rodon with his leg, and Rodon's ankle seemed to twist under him, causing an injury that ended his game early. To make things worse for Leeds, Adingra then scored, giving his team a small lead going into halftime.

Bridges, who was commentating for Sky Sports at the Stadium of Light, said, I think this one is much worse for Joe Rodon. Adingra doesn’t catch him with the first leg; it’s the second leg that does it. See how his ankle twists? That’s not good. I don’t think Joe will be back after that. I get why the first challenge wasn't a yellow card because it's just a trailing leg and wasn't on purpose. But this second one, because Adingra is so close, his knee comes down and rolls the ankle. VAR should take a look at that. It’s bad.

Turns out Newcastle's loss to Man U wasn't about being less physical, even though manager Eddie Howe kind of said it was.

That's what Roy Keane and Jamie Carragher think, anyway. They didn't agree with Howe's comments after the game. Some Newcastle fans also think the coach needs a new plan that doesn't just rely on the team being super physical.

Howe felt his guys weren't as fit as they should've been at Old Trafford, especially after their super intense game against Chelsea.

But Keane and Carragher from Sky Sports think Newcastle lost because they weren't good enough or calm enough when they got close to Man U's goal.

Howe said Newcastle didn't look as physically good as we did in our last game against Chelsea, where we were physically outstanding. He thought his team struggled to push through and score against a tight defence.

This has been a big topic for Newcastle fans. Some say the team needs a Plan B and should focus less on being physical and more on skill. Keane, who used to coach Sunderland, responded to Howe's comments by saying, The most important thing is getting the ball in the net and making smart choices.

You can talk about fitness, but they were in the right spots and just weren't good enough. They weren't calm or ready. All those balls went into the box, and nobody was moving or paying attention.

Look at Man U's goal. The ball was in the air for ages, and Newcastle didn't react. He [Howe] has plenty to be upset about. Stats are cool, but it's about scoring.

Usually, when you have passing stats like that, the other team's goalie is the star, but we barely talked about him. They didn't challenge him.

Carragher agreed; Newcastle fans always talk about how intense they are, how hard they press, and how much energy they have at St. James' Park. But it's way different when they play away, especially compared to that Sunderland game.

They had to go after Man U, given who was on the field. And though they started strong, Man U took over, and Newcastle couldn't get back in the game.

But Newcastle really took over in the second half, but they still didn't do enough to win. If you dominate like that, you're showing you're the better team.

In the first half, they only had one real chance from a set piece. Their set pieces were better than their regular plays. But the goalie didn't even have to make one save.

Howe agreed with that, saying, I think we made chances; we just didn’t make outstanding chances, the type of chances you need to score.

Newcastle's players get a four-day break now before playing Burnley on Tuesday to end 2025.

Howe would like to switch players up to keep everyone fresh and fit, but he doesn't have many choices because so many players are hurt, especially on defence.

Kieran Trippier, Emil Krafth, Tino Livramento, Jamaal Lascelles, Sven Botman, and Dan Burn are all injured. This means Lewis Miley has to play right-back, which limits the midfield choices. Although Howe can still use Joe Willock and Joelinton, who played for the first time in five games against Man U.

Anthony Elanga missed playing against his old team due to an injury, and William Osula is also still recovering. Yoane Wissa isn't ready to start games yet, as the medical team is slowly getting him back in shape after his knee injury.