How Leeds have just been handed lucky Man United omen after Premier League announcement
Leeds United will welcome news of Darren England's appointment as referee for Sunday's clash with Manchester United.
The Premier League announced each refereeing appointment for all 10 of the matchday seven fixtures on Monday.
Leeds' clash with fierce rivals Man United in West Yorkshire is arguably the pick of next weekend's fixtures.
Daniel Farke's side are aiming to earn a home league win in this fixture for the first time since 2002.
And in what is a rarity, Leeds will consider themselves favourites to beat Man United, with Michael Carrick under serious pressure.
But exactly why will Leeds favour the appointment of England as referee?
Darren England's records in Leeds and Man United games
England has refereed Leeds 16 times down the years - only four other teams has he officiated more often.
The good news for Leeds is that they have won each of the last three of those, making his appointment a good omen of sorts.
Two of those came last season as Farke's men beat his former side Norwich City 3-0 in the FA Cup and Chelsea 3-1 at Elland Road in the Premier League.
There was also a 3-2 win over Middlesbrough going back to the 2023-24 campaign.
As for Man United, they lost their most recent match with England in the middle.
That came on the opening weekend of the season as they were stunned 2-0 by Hull City at the MKM Stadium, setting the tone for what has been a dreadful start - their worst to a season in 40 years, in fact.
Who is on VAR duty for Leeds vs Man United?
The Premier League has also announced that Peter Bankes will be on VAR duties on Sunday afternoon.
Experienced official Bankes has been VAR three times in the Premier League this season.
The most recent of those was Aston Villa's 2-2 draw with Brentford last weekend.
He will hope it is a quiet afternoon, but that is not often the case when these two great rivals of the English game face off.