Crystal Palace boss Pierre Sage was asked about their unusual long-distance rivalry with Brighton on Friday.

"I know the fans don't like this name [the M23 derby] because it is too far to name it this," said the Frenchman.

"We know it is a big game for the club and the fans, and we have to show our better phases, like the second halves of our last two games.

"On the first day I came here, the first thing they told me was that. In the last few days I've read a lot of articles about the rivalry to understand why. When you have something special, you have to do a special game."

Bournemouth midfielder Tyler Adams wants the Cherries to carry their European form into the Premier League.

The Cherries, who are in the relegation zone with no wins, have won their two Europa League games - including 3-0 over Sturm Graz on Thursday.

"I think there were a lot of emotions involved in that game because of what it meant to the club," Adams said.

"Obviously, with the history of the club and it being our first European home game, it was special."

The Cherries lost 5-1 at Chelsea last weekend and Adams continued: "Sometimes having a result like Chelsea is the wake-up call that you need.

"You can be playing as good football as you want, but if you're not getting three points at the end of it, what does that really mean?

"We had a moment of reflection and talked as a team about how you have to do everything it takes to win.

"I think the reaction was what we needed against Sturm Graz, but now we need to carry that momentum into the weekend."

Simon Stone
BBC Sport Chief Football News Reporter at Elland Road

The Manchester United players have come out to warm up.

They received a typically hostile reception from the home fans.

The rivalry between these two clubs is long-standing and has never been friendly.

Weirdly, last season, as the game progressed, the atmosphere became more subdued.

I am not expecting that today.

I sense Leeds - and their fans - are up for this.

Simon Stone
BBC Sport Chief Football News Reporter at Elland Road

This is my first trip to Elland Road since the corresponding fixture last January, when Ruben Amorim went nuclear in his criticisms of the club and Manchester United sporting director Jason Wilcox in particular.

Wilcox has been in the line of fire this week after Lisandro Martinez condemned the running of the Old Trafford.

At least Martinez has lasted longer than Amorim. He was sacked 24 hours later.

Dion Dublin
Former Man Utd striker on BBC Radio 5 Live

I've played at Elland Road, not for Manchester United, but I know what it's like. If it's Man Utd it's even worse.

I played there for Coventry, I played there for Aston Villa and it is hostile. They don't like anybody at that stadium and when Man Utd are turning up the fans know that they're in town.

It's going to be noisy and it's going to be hard for Man Utd to get anything out of this game unless they are all on it because Leeds will be on it.

Image source, Getty Images

Lucy Ward
Former Leeds striker on BBC Radio 5 Live

On Lisandro Martinez's post-match comments...

I think this wasn't spur of the moment from Martinez, this was planned, this was a collective thing amongst the senior pros.

The core of it I think was he didn't like to see Heaven playing left-back because he's a kid and he's basically been hung out to dry - not by Carrick but because there wasn't a proper left-back there because of injuries and they haven't recruited a left-back when every Man United fan, every fan, could see they needed a left-back.

I do think in some respect they were protecting Carrick as well and Martinez never meant for anyone to go for Carrick. This was all about above - why have you not helped out, why have we got a kid playing left-back? This is not helping the manager, this is not helping us.

I think this was a collective response, everybody knew what was going to happen, apart from maybe the young players.

Paul Birch
BBC Sport

Like opponents Bournemouth, Sunderland have had a tricky start to their domestic campaign but have also picked up two morale-boosting victories in Europe.

One win from their opening six top-flight matches means they sit just one place above the Cherries in 17th and they are seven points down on the tally of 11 they had at the same stage of last season.

Three successive league defeats marks their joint worst run under head coach Regis le Bris. Heavy mitigation does come from the fact that those matches have pitted them against the top three sides in the table, but they will be keen to kick the losing habit.

The Black Cats will also need to find a way of shutting up shop away from home given they have now gone nine games on the road without a clean sheet in all competitions.

Like Bournemouth they have begun a punishing run of nine games in less than a month as their European commitments begin to bite. The good news is that they boast a great record against Sunday's opponents having only lost two of their 12 encounters in all competitions with the Cherries.

Sunderland have also won on four out of their six visits to Bournemouth in all competitions, with their only defeat there coming in the top-flight back in 2015.

Paul Birch
BBC Sport

"Three points after six games. We need a reaction, we need a turnaround, quite soon," Bournemouth’s head coach Marco Rose said after their thrashing at Chelsea.

If only the Cherries could channel their early form in Europe into the bread and butter of the Premier League. Thursday’s historic victory over Sturm Graz made them the first English team to win their first two matches in a major European competition since Bolton Wanderers in the 2005-06 Uefa Cup.

The damaging defeat by Chelsea marked the first time they had lost consecutive league games since last December and stretched their winless start to the season to six matches.

Only in 1994-95 in the third tier (eight games) and the 2023-24 top-flight season (nine games) have they endured a longer winless start to a league season.

Such is the quirk of statistics that Bournemouth actually had a greater xG of 1.46 compared with Chelsea’s 1.08 yet were still beaten 5-1 at Stamford Bridge.

They’ve shipped a joint top-flight high of 13 goals this season despite facing the joint lowest amount of shots. It the fewest shots faced in the opening six games of a Premier League season without recording a win since records were kept in 2003-04.

With just three draws to show for their exploits this season they are actually eight points worse off than they were at this stage of last season, the joint most of any club along with fellow winless side Tottenham.

With a run of nine games in 29 days in all competitions under way Rose is going to need to pick up league wins fast.

If Chris' prediction is right there I think it's going to be a busy day on bbc.co.uk/sport/football

I found Lisandro Martinez's outburst about Manchester United's recruitment very strange, especially after his mistake that cost his side victory over Tottenham.

You'd think Martinez would keep his head down after making a mess of the cross that let Dominic Solanke equalise - If I am United's director of football Jason Wilcox then, in January, I am buying a big left-sided centre-half who can deal with crosses to take his place.

While some Manchester United fans might agree with what Martinez said, there is a time and a place to do it and it felt like a really poor error of judgement.

It just shows what kind of state Manchester United are in at the moment, though. Don't forget that Spurs played them off the park early on in that game.

Maybe they will up their game and find a way to win this time because they are getting desperate - but I don't see it.

I think Leeds will beat them, and beat them convincingly.

So far this season I have backed Manchester United most weeks but I have had enough of that. I must have lost my head to stick with them so long - not any more.

Sutton's prediction: 5-0

I am not quite sure how Crystal Palace beat Nottingham Forest last week, because Forest had some incredible chances.

I don't see the Eagles getting anything here, though, because Brighton are absolutely flying at the moment.

The Seagulls showed great resilience to hold on at 1-0 with 10 men in their win against Sunderland last week and ended up scoring a second goal right at the end too.

Again, both teams play in Europe on Thursday so they will have to find the right balance with their team selections - but I don't see it affecting Brighton any more than it will Palace.

Sutton's prediction: 2-1

Both these teams play in Europe on Thursday but neither of them are in great form. Sunderland have lost three in a row, while Bournemouth have not won in the league so far this season.

The Cherries have been a team who have got in front but let things slip a few times this season but, against Chelsea, they went 2-0 down right from kick-off, then did it again with their third goal inside the first few seconds of the second half.

Bournemouth boss Marco Rose had probably told his players "don't do anything stupid" at the break, so he must have been absolutely livid at that.

They really need a positive result here but so do Sunderland. It's going to be close, and I can't pick a winner.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

Matt Jones
BBC Sport journalist

Manchester United could do without a visit to what will be a white-hot Elland Road. Their six points after six games is their lowest tally in the top flight since the 1986-87 season, when they had four points.

The Red Devils have been accused of a lack of physicality in their opening games. That has been evident in the latter stages of matches, with Manchester United conceding a joint league high four goals in the last 10 minutes of games.

Midfield has been a particular area of concern. While Kobbie Mainoo and Youri Tielemans rank highly in terms of possession won in the middle third, there are clearly structural issues that have not been resolved.

In terms of the percentage of high intensity pressures and counter pressures in the middle third, Manchester United rank 17th and 18th respectively.

The Red Devils have also spent a higher proportion of their time off the ball in a high block than any other team in the Premier League, potentially leaving too much space for their midfielders to cover.

At the sharp end of the pitch, there is a sense that the forwards should have done more with the opportunities they have had, too.

Going into the weekend fixtures, Manchester United have had the most shots (and the most touches in the opposition box) of any team.

However, they are currently joint last in terms of xG per shot, which sits at a lowly 0.08, and their conversion rate of 6.45% is better than that of only two teams.

Matt Jones
BBC Sport journalist

Daniel Farke will be content with the significant improvement in his team’s overall play this season.

One thing Leeds still definitely need to crack is early kick-offs.

Remarkably, Leeds have gone 20 Premier League games without a win drawing seven and losing 13 in matches that have kicked off before 15:00 - that is the longest run by a team in the history of the competition.

Typically, the earlier games come with tepid atmospheres, although there is no danger of Sunday's fixture being a low-key one for the crowd. Leeds will be desperate to get one over on their rivals.

On home soil, Farke's side have been tough to beat, too, with four wins and three draws in their last seven games at Elland Road.

Manchester United will likely have to prepare themselves for an aerial bombardment. Leeds have won the most aerial duels in the Premier League this season, while only four sides have won fewer than the Red Devils.

Tom McCoy
BBC Sport journalist

Crystal Palace claimed their first Premier League home win under Pierre Sage last weekend and are now seeking back-to-back top-flight victories for the first time since December 2025.

The Eagles rode their luck against Nottingham Forest, allowing their opponents eight opportunities that Opta defines as 'big chances'.

It was only the second time in 13 years that a Premier League side had conceded so many clear-cut openings and still won. Sage acknowledged that goalkeeper Walter Benitez had kept Palace in the game with several important saves.

"I have to congratulate him because when you play as number two, it's always difficult," he said. The Argentine, who is deputising for the injured Dean Henderson, could not prevent his side from losing 3-2 to Lyon on Thursday and is likely to be kept busy again at the Amex Stadium.

Palace have faced 108 shots with a combined expected goals value of 12.8, both Premier League highs after six rounds of matches.

Many fans have suggested a fine is not a significant enough punishment for Lisandro Martinez's mid-week outburst.

But clearly it's all water under the bridge for Manchester United boss Michael Carrick as he deems Martinez's position in the team more important than making a statement by leaving him out.

Is a fine a sufficient enough punishment? If not, what should it be?