In a matter of hours, Leeds United will take the pitch at Bramall Lane to take on Sheffield United in a high-stakes Championship clash tonight. The Whites have a two-point lead over the Blades and a draw will be good enough to help them consolidate their place at the summit of the Championship table. Sheffield United need a win to replace Leeds at the top and distance themselves from third-place Burnley who will be watching the game tonight despite what Scott Parker has to say. It’s a top-of-the-table clash that could go any way and Sheffield United will hope the Bramall Lane crowd will push them towards a win.
Leeds United have been fabulous over the course of the last few weeks and seem to have shifted gears in their pursuit of securing automatic promotion to the Premier League.
However, it is a testament to Sheffield United’s quality that they have managed to remain on the coattails of Leeds and have continued to churn out results as they look to chase down the Whites.
Chris Wilder has been playing mind games with Leeds for weeks and finally, his side have a chance to move ahead of the Whites in the table if they get all three points at home tonight.
One wrinkle for Leeds tonight will be the absence of Farke from the touchline after he picked up a third yellow card of the season against Sunderland, a decision that has been widely derided from all quarters.
However, the Leeds boss’ absence could play a key role in the result tonight, at least that’s what former Whites boss Neil Warnock thinks ahead of the game.
Leeds United will face an ‘unbelievable atmosphere’ tonight – Neil Warnock
The former Leeds boss has been one of the many who have been critical of Stuart Atwell’s decision to brandish a yellow card against Farke last Monday.
Warnock indicated that it was the working of an overzealous fourth official and feels Atwell wanted to get his 15 minutes of fame by booking the Leeds boss when he was celebrating with his players.
However, the ex-Leeds manager thinks that Farke’s absence coupled with the electric atmosphere Bramall Lane is expected to produce tonight will massively favour Sheffield United.
He added that the Sheffield United home crowd will end up playing a big role given the build-up to the game between the two Yorkshire rivals.
“With Daniel up in the stands, it will quite favour Sheffield United tonight with the home crowd”, Warnock said on talkSPORT.
“It’s an amazing atmosphere and in that part of the country, it will be an unbelievable atmosphere.
“It will be full probably before an hour of the game tonight.”
The Leeds away support have a job to do tonight
While Farke has been trying to play down the situation, his absence from the dugout tonight is going to be critical and could play a big role in deciding the game.
The Leeds boss would have been drilling his team all week and trusts his coaching staff enough to ensure that his side stick to their style of football.
The German will also remain in constant touch with his staff throughout but his physical presence on the touchline will be missed by his players.
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In a heated atmosphere, the Leeds stars will have to remain cool and show composure to get the result they want at Bramall Lane and the role of the away support is going to be huge.
Leeds will carry a loud contingent of fans to Bramall Lane tonight and they need to step up even more tonight in the absence of the manager in the dugout.
The Whites are aware of the importance of getting a result tonight and in Farke’s absence in the dugout, they will look for inspiration from the away end at Bramall Lane.
