Leeds v Spurs team news: Bentancur back, DCL doubt
Leeds United welcome Tottenham Hotspur to Elland Road on Saturday 7 November 2026 at 13:30 WAT (12:30 GMT), with Daniel Farke listing Anton Stach and Noah Okafor as major doubts and only carefully optimistic on Dominic Calvert-Lewin, while Roberto De Zerbi can call on Rodrigo Bentancur after suspension and hopes Lucas Bergvall and Tosin Adarabioyo are available.
By Emily · · Updated
When and where is Leeds United v Tottenham?
Leeds United welcome Tottenham Hotspur to Elland Road on Saturday 7 November 2026, with kick-off at 12:30 GMT (13:30 WAT). The fixture sits in the early Premier League window, and both clubs have issued pre-match injury updates this week. Tottenham arrive chasing a fourth straight league win; Leeds are working through a mixed fitness board under Daniel Farke.
What is Leeds United's team news?
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Farke told the Leeds United club site: "Some mixed news during this week. Good news with Joe Rodon, he is back in full team training during this week." Rodon had been out for quite a time with a hamstring problem. On the attackers, Farke said Noah Okafor "missed the last game due to some adductor problems" and "was also not able to have one team training session during this week so far, just individual work", so availability is unclear. "The same for Anton Stach with foot problems. Just individual rehab work was possible, so major doubts then both if they are available."
On Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Farke added: "Dominic Calvert-Lewin had a little setback with his foot as well, was not able to train with us today but I would say I am carefully optimistic that he is back in training hopefully tomorrow and then he would also be available."
What did Roberto De Zerbi say about Spurs returns?
In a Tottenham Hotspur club interview published on 31 October, De Zerbi said of Tosin Adarabioyo and Lucas Bergvall: "Before the international break, for Tosin and Bergvall. Maybe. Maybe not from the beginning against Leeds, but available yes, I hope so. Mudryk and Savio after the international break." On Wilson Odobert, still recovering from an ACL injury, he said the forward should be back in training "After December. After Christmas. In January, I think."
The Standard repeats those De Zerbi lines ahead of Elland Road and adds that Rodrigo Bentancur is back after serving a three-match suspension from his late red card at Manchester United, with Bergvall also in the return window after a knee problem from the same match. James Maddison, not risked against Crystal Palace after a groin issue, "should therefore be available to play some part at Leeds", The Standard writes, while Pedro Porro is expected to be fit enough to start. Destiny Udogie "needs more time" before a starting return. The Standard's projected Spurs XI (4-2-3-1) reads: Kinsky; Porro, Van Hecke, Van de Ven, Robertson; Bentancur, Tonali; Kudus, Maddison, Tel; Solanke — again an outlet projection, not a club sheet.
How does Football London frame the Bentancur–Bergvall return?
Football London (4 November) likewise says Bentancur and Bergvall are set to return to the matchday squad at Elland Road. It recounts Bentancur's three-match ban for violent conduct after the head movement on Luke Shaw, and quotes De Zerbi from Old Trafford on the red card as "a mistake from Rodrigo" while praising the character Spurs then showed with ten players. Football London notes Tottenham have won each of the three Premier League games since that night. The midfield choice among Bentancur, Bergvall, Tonali and Mateus Fernandes is framed as De Zerbi's selection headache, not as a settled XI.
What else frames Saturday lunchtime?
The Standard notes Spurs are looking to make it four wins in a row for the first time in more than 1,000 days, and Football London records three Premier League wins since the Manchester United red-card night. For Nigerian readers the kick-off is 13:30 WAT, the early Saturday slot after Friday's 21:00 WAT Everton–Coventry game. We keep the Leeds injury board update distinct from our earlier Bournemouth v Leeds package, where Stach was already flagged.
TuSport desk: two injury boards, one Saturday lunch kick
Line Farke's and De Zerbi's updates up and the boards point in opposite directions. On the Leeds side, the Leeds United club note of 5 November has Joe Rodon back in full team training after a long spell out, while Noah Okafor and Anton Stach have done only individual work and are major doubts, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin had a foot setback that kept him out of Thursday's session — Farke is only "carefully optimistic" he trains Friday and is available. On the Tottenham side, the Tottenham Hotspur club interview has De Zerbi hoping Tosin Adarabioyo and Lucas Bergvall are available for Leeds ("Maybe not from the beginning… but available, yes"), with Mykhailo Mudryk and Sávio pushed past the international break.
Rodrigo Bentancur's return is the other Spurs marker. The Standard and Football London both frame him as back after a three-match ban from the Manchester United red card, with Bergvall also in the return window. The Standard's projected XI still names Bentancur in midfield beside Tonali — an outlet reading, not a confirmed sheet. Kick-off is 13:30 WAT on Saturday 7 November — the early Premier League lunch slot for Nigerian viewers after Friday's Everton–Coventry late game.
Continuity flag for our desk: Stach was already a doubt in our earlier Bournemouth v Leeds team-news package. Farke's fresh "major doubts" line on Stach and Okafor, plus the careful Calvert-Lewin note, is the update that matters before Elland Road. We do not invent line-ups; any named XI below is labelled to the outlet that published it.
Why it matters
Saturday's 13:30 WAT lunch kick is the first Premier League game of the weekend and pits Tottenham's returnees against a Leeds attack still sorting Calvert-Lewin, Okafor and Stach. Follow the Premier League and Tottenham Hotspur hubs and the WAT kick-off times guide. Read our earlier reports on Bournemouth v Leeds team news and Arsenal's Max Dowman appeal.
Who will win?
Leeds United v Tottenham Hotspur · Sat 07 Nov, 13:30 WAT · Elland Road, Leeds
One vote per reader. Results show after you vote.
Sources: Leeds United — Team News: Injury updates on Calvert-Lewin, Okafor & Stach · Tottenham Hotspur — De Zerbi on when Tosin, Bergvall, Mudryk and Savio could return · The Standard — Tottenham XI vs Leeds: Confirmed team news, predicted lineup and injury latest for Premier League · Football London — Tottenham set to welcome back two players for Leeds as Roberto De Zerbi faces midfield headache
