The 13 players set to miss Sunderland v Leeds United | OneFootball

Sunderland and Leeds United have injury issues ahead of their crucial clash at the Stadium of Light on Friday night.

Leeds United travel to take on Sunderland at the Stadium of Light this evening in what is arguably the standout Championship fixture of the weekend.

The Black Cats have enjoyed a fine start to life under Regis Le Bris, with the Frenchman winning six of his eight league games, meaning they lead the way in the second tier at the moment.

Meanwhile, pre-season promotion favourites Leeds are in the play-off places, and they can go level on points with Sunderland if they win on Wearside, and they will end the night in first place if they win by two clear goals.

So, it’s set up nicely for the two sides, as they look to land what would be a statement victory in the promotion race, even at this early stage.

Sunderland team news

Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Sunderland’s fast start under Le Bris is that he has done it without a host of injured players, and unfortunately that situation isn’t easing for Leeds’ visit.

Influential centre-back Dan Ballard was surprisingly called up to the Northern Ireland squad for their games next week, but his ankle injury is expected to keep him out of the Leeds clash, and it remains to be seen whether he will join up with his country.

The midweek win over Derby brought a fresh problem for Ian Poveda, with the winger now set for up to six weeks out with a muscle problem, meaning he won’t feature against his former club.

Elsewhere, the likes of Eliezer Mayenda, Aji Alese, Jenson Seelt, Salis Abdul Samed and Niall Huggins remain absent.

Aaron Connolly recently joined the Black Cats as a free agent, but the plan initially was for him to build-up fitness over the international break, although he still could get a place on the bench if Le Bris changes his mind.

Given the short turnaround from the Derby win, the boss may choose to rotate, with Alan Browne someone who could come into the XI.

Of course, it’s the same for Leeds, as they make the trip to the north-east on the back of a 1-1 draw at Norwich City just three days ago.

And, like the leaders, they also suffered an injury worry in the week, as Ilia Gruev was forced off inside 20 minutes. Surgery now means he will be missing for a significant chunk of time.

Gruev will join an injury list that includes Max Wober, Ethan Ampadu, Daniel James and Manor Solomon, with the latter close to a return, but Sunderland is expected to come too soon.

There was some good news for the Whites though, as boss Daniel Farke suggested that Isaac Schmidt could return to the squad, with the summer signing expected to have trained yesterday as he recovers from a knock picked up earlier this season.

Again, Farke may look to freshen things up aside from the one enforced change, with Joe Rothwell likely to partner Ao Tanaka in Gruev’s absence.

Elsewhere, the likes of Patrick Bamford and Joel Piroe could come into the XI if the boss wants fresh legs, although the duo didn’t exactly impress at Carrow Road.