Leeds vs Sunderland: Predictions, tips and bet builder as Championship promotion rivals face off
Leeds look to reclaim top spot in the Championship when they take on promotion rivals Sunderland at Elland Road on Monday night (2000 GMT).
You may know them from the docuseries on Netflix: "Sunderland 'Til I Die", but the Black Cats' history is more illustrious than even those who have watched attentively may realise.
Campbell was Scottish and was one of many Scottish players in the team. Sunderland's recruitment practices left the football fraternity in Scotland outraged, so Samuel Tyzack, a wealthy miner who funded the team alongside shipbuilder Robert Turnbull, reportedly pretended to be a priest while scouting for players.
However, Sunderland's fortunes took a turn for the worse after the second World War. In the 1950s, they found themselves involved in a financial scandal. In 1957, they were found guilty of making payments to players which exceeded the maximum wage and were fined a total of £5,000, which at the time was a significant sum of money.
After being pipped to promotion by Chelsea in 1962/63, Sunderland were finally promoted back to the top flight in 1964. At the end of the decade, however, they were relegated once again.
In 1973, Sunderland stunned Don Revie's famous Leeds United side by beating them 1-0 in the FA Cup final. At the time, the Mackems were in the Second Division, but they won against their illustrious opponents largely thanks to the goalkeeping heroics of Jimmy Montgomery.
Sunderland were relegated after staying up in the top flight for one year, but in 1992, they once again made the FA Cup final as a second tier side. On this occasion, they were beaten 2-0 by Liverpool.
The Irish Drumaville Consortium, led by former player Niall Quinn, took over in 2006 and appointed Roy Keane as manager. Keane led Sunderland back to the Premier League, but left after an inconsistent start to the 2008/09 season.
Darren Bent, Jordan Henderson and Asamoah Gyan were the star names of the first few years of the Ellis Short era, but it gradually went pear-shaped.
The inevitable eventually happened as Sunderland were relegated under David Moyes in 2016/17. They subsequently dropped straight down to League One in a disastrous season. In April 2018, the club was sold to a group led by Stewart Donald.
With the new regime struggling to win the Sunderland fans over and Kyril Louis-Dreyfus, an ambitious 23-year-old whose family were previous owners of French giants Marseilles, bought the club in February 2021.
One thing that has remained consistent at Sunderland is the habit of sacking managers, with Jack Ross, Phil Parkinson, and Lee Johnson all hired and fired whilst the club have been in League One.
At the start of the new 2022/23 Championship season, Neil was named as the new manager of Stoke City and the vacant hotseat at Sunderland was filled by former Middlesbrough legend Tony Mowbray.
Despite a bright start to the current campaign, his side appeared increasingly unsettled and slipped out of the play-off places to ninth, three points adrift of the top six.
Former Rangers boss Michael Beale was named as Sunderland's new head coach on December 18, 2023, but only lasted two months in the role before getting the sack.
Jordan Henderson, who captained Liverpool to both the Premier League and Champions League titles came through the ranks at Sunderland, as did goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
Both players were important members of the England team that reached the World Cup semi-final in 2018 and the final of Euro 2020.
For the 2021/22 season, that was greater than all of the Championship and a quarter of the clubs in the Premier League, and following promotion their season card sales soared to more than 28,000.
Sunderland's most famous rivalry is the Tyne-Wear derby against Newcastle United, and have a secondary rivalry with Middlesbrough.
Leeds look to reclaim top spot in the Championship when they take on promotion rivals Sunderland at Elland Road on Monday night (2000 GMT).
Celtic meet the might of Harry Kane's Bayern Munich in the Champions League, while crucial battles take place at the top of the Championship in our BTTS acca on Wednesday, February 12.
Middlesbrough’s clash with Sunderland promises to be an entertaining affair on Monday night, as we stick a few pennies on the visitors to kick chunks out of their neighbours in a tight tussle.
The 2024/25 Championship season is upon us, so it’s time to select our favourite outright tips, picking who we think will finish in the top six and which sides will be relegated.
Join Planet Sport as we answer the question, how many points does it take to achieve automatic promotion from the Championship to the Premier League?
Bristol City, Cardiff City, Derby County, Leeds United, Middlesbrough, Sheffield United, Swansea City and Watford feature in Friday’s Championship transfer gossip.
Thursday’s transfer gossip column is headlined by Chelsea’s rumoured move for Leeds United star Crysencio Summerville.