Sunderland host Leeds United at the Stadium of Light on Sunday afternoon.

Leeds United boss Daniel Farke has delivered a team news update ahead of his side’s clash with Sunderland this weekend, with Sean Longstaff and Daniel James set to miss out.

The two newly promoted clubs are scheduled to meet at the Stadium of Light at 2pm on Sunday afternoon, with both teams currently enjoying eye-catching runs of form. For their part, the Black Cats are sixth in the Premier League table at the time of writing, just two points off the top four, having taken four points from Newcastle United and Brighton and Hove Albion in their last two outings.

Meanwhile, after a sluggish start to the campaign, Leeds have hit their stride in recent weeks, avoiding defeat in each of their last four top flight fixtures - drawing with Liverpool and Brentford, and beating Chelsea and Crystal Palace. In particular, striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin is thriving at the point of attack, with six goals in his last five appearances.

What has Leeds United boss Daniel Farke said about his side ahead of Sunderland clash?

But in a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, Farke confirmed that his side will travel to Wearside without either Longstaff or James, while forward Lukas Nmecha could be in contention for a late inclusion in Leeds’ matchday squad.

When whether there was any chance of former Newcastle United star Longstaff featuring against Sunderland, the German replied: “No chance for Sean. Also not, obviously, for Daniel James. It's a small chance for Lukas Nmecha to be involved, so there's some progress. I hope I have him at some point during this week back in team training, and if he comes through the sessions then he could definitely be a topic for the squad and he could travel with us, but he's more or less the only one from the long-term injuries who could perhaps feature in this game.”

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Addressing Calvert-Lewin’s ongoing purple patch, Farke added: “In football, everything is connected - I think he also benefits a lot from that we were capable to prepare many, many situations out of open play last game. We're pretty effective out of set plays as well. I think he benefits from good performance from the whole team, and also, the better we are in possession, the better the offensive players work, the easier it is for my back-line to be rock solid.

“The better the build-up from our defensive players and our midfielders, the more effective our offensive players can be, and for that it's always a team effort and it's important that we keep going also to deliver to bring them into good positions to assist further on. Then it is also up to him to keep going with the hard work because if you think, ‘Okay I just have to make sure that I make myself available and during the week I want to be in cotton wool’, no chance.

”You have to work to keep going exactly with the same work rate that you've shown in training also in the weeks before, otherwise it will be tricky, so it's important. I'm a big believer in the end you will always get what you're willing to invest and he has invested a lot so far.”

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