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Leeds United and Newcastle United meet in a league fixture at Elland Road for the first time since 2003 on Sunday afternoon, in arguably the Championship clash of the weekend.

Despite a disappointing start to the season, Garry Monk’s men sat in the playoff spots before Saturday’s round of fixtures amid a run of three consecutive second tier victories.

Meanwhile, The Toon Army entered the weekend two points clear at the top of the table, with many tipping them to claim this season’s Championship title with relative ease.

The two teams have met on a number of occasions over the years – providing some great clashes and entertainment as a result – and they will be hoping to produce another exciting game this Sunday.

So in anticipation for the meet at Elland Road, Football FanCast thought we’d take a look back at five classic Premier League clashes between the two teams.

Leeds 2-2 Newcastle (August 18, 2003)

It may have been the season they were relegated from the Premier League, but Leeds took a point from their first match of the campaign when they welcomed Newcastle to Elland Road.

Alan Shearer gave the visitors an early lead from the penalty spot, but the hosts hit back quickly through Mark Viduka – before a second half Alan Smith goal looked to have given Leeds all three points.

However, that man Shearer struck again two minutes from full time as the shares were spoiled in Yorkshire.

Leeds 0-3 Newcastle (February 22, 2003)

The year before they were relegated to the Championship, Leeds only avoided the drop by five points amid Premier League season in which they were beaten 19 times – including this 3-0 home defeat to the Magpies.

Kieron Dyer scored a brace before Alan Shearer netted a third for the Toon Army to put the result beyond doubt.

Newcastle eventually ended the season in third place, qualifying for the Champions League, while Leeds finished 15th.

Leeds 3-4 Newcastle (December 22, 2001)

This was a seven-goal thriller at Elland Road that Leeds United supporters will have tried to forget, but the scoreline will live long in the memory of Magpies fans.

Craig Bellamy put the visitors ahead, but almost instantaneously Leeds went level through Lee Bowyer.

Ian Harte and Mark Viduka scored quickfire second-half goals to put the hosts in control, but a Robbie Elliott header, Alan Shearer penalty and last-minute stunner from Nolberto Solano saw Newcastle jump to the top of the league.

Leeds 4-1 Newcastle (October 18, 1997)

While they don’t have the best of records against Newcastle, Leeds have had their high points – including this thumping win at Elland Road in 1997.

The hosts raced into a 3-0 lead at the break thanks to first half goals from Bruno Ribeiro, Harry Kewell and a John Beresford own goal, before David Wetherall put the match beyond doubt just after half-time.

Keith Gillespie did pull one back for the Magpies but it proved to be just a consolation as Newcastle’s run of four successive wins against the Whites came to an end.

Leeds 3-2 Newcastle (September 25, 1999)

Alan Shearer loved a goal against Leeds during his career, but his brace at Elland Road towards the start of the 1999/00 season wasn’t enough to prevent the Whites recording a 3-2 win in a bad-tempered clash.

Lee Bowyer and Harry Kewell gave the hosts a two-goal lead but strikes either side of half-time from Shearer put Newcastle right back in the game.

However, Michael Bridges was to have the final say in a match that included eight yellow cards, netting the winner in the 77th minute.

Liverpool beat Everton 1-0 in a feisty Merseyside derby on Monday night thanks to Sadio Mane’s late winner.

The Toffees started the better side, with their high pressure and direct play down the channels causing problems for the visitors.

The hosts couldn’t make the pressure tell, however, and they allowed Liverpool back into the game during the next 45 minutes without causing much of a threat to Simon Mignolet’s goal themselves.

Roberto Firmino came closest, but was denied wonderfully by substitute keeper Joel Robles, who came on midway through the second half to replace the injured Marteen Stekelenburg.

But it wasn’t until the 94th minute that Liverpool took the lead, when former Southampton man Mane tapped after Daniel Sturridge’s weak effort came back off the post.

While it may have been underwhelming in terms of goals, the tie itself was full of plenty of action, with both sides threatening throughout and nobody shy of a tackle, especially Everton’s Ross Barkley who was lucky to stay on the pitch after a poor challenge on Jordan Henderson.

It was an incredibly tense affair but Liverpool fans will be talking about that one for years to come.

Here are seven images that summed up the game…

Liverpool in the mood to celebrate

Liverpool fans arrived at Goodison Park in good spirits and came willing to celebrate Everton’s 21st year since they last won a major trophy. Balloons and banners dominated the away end as Reds fans enjoyed poking fun at their rival’s misfortunate over the last couple of decades.

Klavan a Busy Boy

Ragnar Klavan did a terrific job of keeping in-form Romelu Lukaku at bay during the first half despite Everton being the better side for much of the first 45 threatening heavily from the wide positions.

Henderson and Barkley square up

Ross Barkley went in late on England teammate Jordan Henderson, which led to the two of them squaring up soon afterwards. Henderson admitted after the game that they’re good mates and Barkley apologised after the game, but friendship goes out of the window for 90 minutes during the Merseyside Derby.

Mane reacts quickest to win it…

Sadio Mane became the hero in the 96th minute after he reacted quickest to slot home the rebound after Daniel Sturridge’s weak effort came back off the post.

Mane’s goal sparked absolute scenes in the away end at Goodison Park…

No pyro, no party

There’s nothing better than a stoppage time winner over our bitter rivals in their own back yard, is there?

Mane was the hero at Goodison Park and Liverpool fans got the pyro out to start the party.

Relief

The Liverpool fans were sent in to raptures when Sadio Mane struck the winner late into stoppage time after the ball rebounded back off of Joel Robles’ far post. The goal was well deserved, but you could sense the relief with it having taken so long to come.

Scenes

Klopp is always an animated character on the sidelines, so it was no surprise to see the German and his backroom staff celebrate like crazy when Mane smashed home the winner.

As reported by The Daily Mirror, Paris Saint-Germain are hoping Alexis Sanchez’s contract stand-off with Arsenal continues into the summer and reckon they can bring him to Ligue 1.

What’s the word?

Alexis Sanchez only has 18 months remaining on his contract at the Emirates and the Gunners are facing a real fight to hold on to him, with the likes of PSG circling.

The Mirror reckon that Sanchez’s representatives have been made aware that the French club are hoping the contract impasses continues into the summer transfer window.

The paper say PSG Director of Football Patrick Kluivert is a massive fan of the forward and is hoping to land his man for a cut-price fee.

Star man

Alexis Sanchez has banged in an incredible 15 goals so far this season, playing a massive part in Arsenal’s fantastic unbeaten run earlier in the season.

That’s worth mega money in the Premier League and if Arsenal want to keep him they’re likely going to have to open the chequebook. The Mirror say that that the Gunners are willing to offer up to £200,000 p/w for the striker but that clubs elsewhere could offer significantly more.

He’s well on course to have his best season in an Arsenal shirt and perhaps the best season of his career. The most league goals he’s ever scored in one season was 19, for Barcelona in La Liga the year before he moved to London.

This is a transfer saga that’s likely to roll on and on unless they can convince the Chilean to commit his future to life at the Emirates.

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Never one afraid to offer a contrary view on football, as The Daily Mirror reports, Jose Mourinho has given Wayne Rooney his blessing should he want to pursue a move to China.

What’s the word?

Premier League players potentially moving to China has definitely been the big talking point of the January transfer window so far and that’s never truer than today with Jose Mourinho offering a view alternative to some comments by managers on the subject recently.

Before Oscar confirmed his transfer away from Chelsea, Stamford Bridge boss Antonio Conte described Chinese club’s spending power as ‘a danger’.

Mourinho though thinks very differently and when asked about the subject in relation to Wayne Rooney, seemed to have no problem with approaches from China.

Quoted by The Mirror, he said:

“I don’t like to be critical of players who decide to go to China. It’s their life, it’s their organisation of their life, their organisation of their career. The money is huge. The experience can also be interesting. I know some of my colleagues think they are more important than they are and think they can interfere in the lives of other people, but I’m not that sort of guy.”

Interesting comments I’m sure you’ll agree. Is Mourinho right or is he simply stirring the pot?

Interest in Rooney?

There apparently are Chinese clubs interest in seeking Rooney’s services this summer with The Mirror reporting that Guangzhou Evergrande and Beijing Guoan are two such clubs.

They reckon that these clubs want to offer the England international a staggering £700,000 per week to bring him to Asia.

If that figure is true then could anyone really blame the Manchester United legend for moving on? The romance and competitive appeal of football is all well and good but that’s money that could take Rooney and his family to another level wealth wise.

United should fight to keep him

While Jose Mourinho left the door open for a move to China, he did admit that Rooney is still a big player at the club. He is quoted by The Mirror as saying Rooney can make ‘an important contribution for us’, showing that life may not be over for the forward in the Premier League.

He is a player that Man United should be looking to keep this summer, even as the Portuguese manager continues to make big changes at the club.

Rooney of course broke the club’s all-time goalscoring record on Saturday but it wasn’t just a vanity exercise in a routine win, it was an absolutely vital goal that rescued a key point for the Old Trafford side.

He still has the ability to produce those moments of magic and it’s an ability that Man United should’ve give up so easily, especially as his contract runs to 2019.

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Plenty of Manchester United fans are becoming more convinced that Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann will become their next big signing.

According to The Independent, the France international has already verbally agreed to join the Red Devils in the summer.

The publication has gone so far as to say that the attacker has even selected his shirt number for the 2017-18 campaign at Old Trafford.

It is understood by The Independent that United are willing to splash out on €100m to seal Griezmann’s signature, just one year after they broke the world record to re-sign Paul Pogba for £89m.

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Neither club have confirmed or denied that a potential deal is in place, but some United fans feel that the forward, who has netted 12 goals in 25 appearances in all competitions this season, is destined for the number seven shirt vacated by Memphis Depay.

On Wednesday, numerous media outlets, including BBC Sport, reported that United have agreed to sell Depay to Lyon in a £16m deal that includes a buy-back option.

After the news emerged, attention turned to the potential signing of Griezmann.

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Arsenal fans would have probably feared a potentially huge clash in the FA Cup fifth-round, which falls just after the first-leg of their Champions League Round of 16 face-off against Bayern Munich, but the Gods favoured the Gunners last night.Instead of securing a Premier League rival or even a high-flying Championship side, Arsenal will tackle non-league minnows Sutton United- a club who have never reached the top-four tiers of English football and play on an artificial pitch.Whilst many will be dreaming of a famous cup upset, which would certainly surpass the incredible result achieved against Leeds United at the weekend, all the factors point towards Arsenal extending their remarkable FA Cup run.

Since January 2014, Arsenal have lost just one of their last 19 matches in the competition, which came against Watford in the quarter-finals last term, and have only required a replay once during that run.

The Gunners have lifted the trophy twice in three years and have conceded just 13 FA Cup goals during that run, a frankly ridiculous record which shows Arsene Wenger is the master of England’s famous old competition.

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As reported in an exclusive by The Sun, Antoine Griezmann will only make the move to Manchester United this summer if they make the top four and achieve UEFA Champions League qualification next season.

What’s the story?

It’s no secret that Manchester United are interested in signing French superstar Antoine Griezmann but their ability to attract him to Old Trafford has been compromised with these latest revelations.

The Sun reports that the Atletico Madrid attacker will only consider a switch to Mourinho’s side if they see through their resurgence under Jose Mourinho and qualify for Europe’s biggest club competition.

It’s the only thing that could potentially sink the deal according to the paper with United ready to commit the money to take him to the Premier League both in terms of a transfer fee and weekly wages.

They’ll have to do the business on the pitch first though and the last third of the season just got a whole lot more important.

Worth the fuss?

Griezmann is undoubtedly one of the finest players in Europe, a star for club and country that doesn’t come around often.

He’s scored 72 goals in 138 appearances for Atletico Madrid, helping them to Champions League finals and bringing them so close to breaking the La Liga norm by winning the league title.

He was in red hot form during Euro 2016 too, winning the Player of the Tournament award and also the Golden Boot award.

Despite being a runner up in all these competitions, you get the feeling that whatever club he moves to next will enjoy great success and linking up with the likes of Paul Pogba and Zlatan Ibrahimovic could bring his game to the next level.

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Matches don’t come any bigger than this in the Championship. First host second with only one point separating them and the in-form Huddersfield Town rapidly putting pressure on from third. There are twelve matches left in the season for Newcastle and Brighton after their Tuesday south coast encounter, but the form of the two clubs up until this point still makes this match extremely significant in the context of the promotion race.

The Magpies have suffered three disappointing draws in their last six league outings, including a shock 2-2 draw at home to Bristol City last weekend. Rafa Benitez’s side have spent the majority of this season looking as good as guaranteed for automatic promotion, but a defeat away at their title rivals on Tuesday night would severely jeopardise that.

Newcastle have far and away the strongest squad in the Championship this season but too many of their supposed stars are under-performing. There are three, in particular, that must prove they are worthy of their salary against Brighton…

Aleksandar Mitrovic

The initial hype around Mitrovic is long forgotten now. In and out of the side this season and with only four Championship goals to his name, the aggressive Serbian must prove he can deliver for Newcastle when they need him most.

The talent is there, most frustratingly, but his displays too often do not reflect that. While still suffering from the inconsistencies of youth, Mitrovic has been in the shadow of Dwight Gayle in Newcastle’s final third this season.

Jack Colback

Amidst the squad changes at St James’ Park, Jack Colback has been a relative constant. Starting 16 Championship matches this season, the former Sunderland man has often been a weak point in the midfield and is too regularly found out of position. With Isaac Hayden ruled out for a few weeks, Colback will be starting alongside Jonjo Shelvey in the heart of midfield and must be solid to enable Shelvey to roam forwards.

The team needs a big performance from Colback on Tuesday. While he may not run the show from the middle of the park, he must track runs from Brighton’s midfielders and be aware of their centre forwards dropping deep to receive the ball.

Ayoze Perez

Not often starting for the Magpies this season, Perez will likely have to make an impact from the bench on Tuesday evening. Creatively one of the better players in the squad and with a natural eye for goal, his bit-part role in the team reflects an indifferent campaign.

In a match that could come down to one piece of individual brilliance, Ayoze Perez could be the key for Newcastle to return to the top of the Championship.

Liverpool, once again, are heading for the summer transfer window with a long shopping list. After pursuits of players like Mahmoud Dahoud seemed to have come to an inconvenient ending, a new shortlist must be drawn up. Liverpool’s transfer policy has been hesitant at times, too often leaving the club short of players in certain positions or making do for players not up to the standard they really need.

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Amongst Liverpool’s jaunts into the market there have been some shockers in recent years. Deals that made no sense, didn’t fit the team’s style or were simply misguided. One such deal was the signing of Christian Benteke. You can decide for yourselves how many of those categories he fitted into.

Benteke was signed for over £30 million and discarded only a year later for a similar fee. No financial loss and a player moved on when he was not in the plans of the first team boss, it sounds like a good deal. The Belgian has had an indifferent season for Crystal Palace, too, further suggesting this was a smart piece of face-saving transfer work from Liverpool.

Benteke has always been a patchy player. Bemoaned for a lack of work ethic one week and nigh-on unplayable the next, comparisons to Didier Drogba are not far off the mark at times. He never adapted to Liverpool and, in truth, the signing was an odd one. The Reds were not – and are not – set up to play towards a target man like he is. He was only ever feasibly an option either from the bench or a plan B for the manager, but his transfer fee meant he required a role in the squad far greater than what he was best suited to.

This season, however, Liverpool have been all too frequently one dimensional. Roberto Firmino has taken the role of centre forward and played it very well, but another option has been lacking. Divock Origi and Daniel Sturridge can play as more conventional number nines, yet they are not offering anything quite as remarkably different as a player like Benteke would have done.

Sturridge is likely to finally be on his way out of the club this summer, while Origi is still a raw talent who could become a key player in the future, but his decision making and finishing need to improve quickly.

Liverpool are left, amongst other positions, needing to add a natural centre forward when the window opens. Sadio Mane and Firmino have been fantastic for swathes of the campaign, though, and a striker will realistically only be a second or third option for Jurgen Klopp. As much as the squad can change, he will need to be willing to change his team’s build-up if they are to add a player like Benteke.

Holding an unpleasant record against bottom half teams who sit deep and counter attack, Liverpool are blunted when forced wide. As was evident away at Leicester and on other occasions this season, teams will defend the width of the penalty area under the knowledge Liverpool present no threat aerially. Georginio Wijnaldum has popped up with a few important goals from midfield, but the fact they have needed his third man runs to provide extra goals so often is only a minor compensation for the lack of a natural striker.

The beauty of Liverpool’s play is the fluidity of it, but sometimes a central attacking focal point is required. He needn’t be a target like Benteke, but someone who can physically occupy the central defenders and give an option to play more direct balls into the opposition’s final third would aid Liverpool significantly.

He was the wrong man at the wrong time, but the sale of a striker who would’ve been the ideal alternative in the final third adds to the frustration as Liverpool prepare to delve into the centre forward market once again.

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Harry Winks has been one of the success stories of the Premier League season so far, and Mauricio Pochettino is clearly a big fan of the young English midfielder.

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Since making his European debut in the 2014/15 season, Winks has become a more consistent member of the Tottenham first team this year – with 13 Premier League appearances already under his belt.

He has been a regular in domestic cup competition for the Lilywhites this season, with his latest start coming against Millwall over the weekend. The biggest story coming out of the game was an impressive hat-trick by Son Heung-min, but a fine display from Winks went under the radar, too.

Playing as a deep-lying midfielder, Winks served as the catalyst for Tottenham’s offensive line – and his role in the 6-0 thrashing at White Hart Lane cannot be understated, as the stats suggest.

A whopping 99 passes saw Winks lead the way for Tottenham when it came to moving the ball on, whilst a passing accuracy of 98% ensured that the vast majority of these passes hit their target.

They weren’t just short pass-and-move balls, either, with an impressive 9 accurate long balls also leading the way for Winks’ side. His involvement was thorough, too, with 114 touches: the most of any player in a Tottenham shirt.

Mauricio Pochettino clearly has a top player on his hands in Harry Winks, and performances like that which he displayed against Millwall prove that he is ready to compete. You can see why the manager’s a fan.

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