Leeds United came into the festive fixtures under pressure as three of their four games ahead of the FA Cup weekend were away from home. They have been poor away from home this season and Stoke were not a happy hunting ground for the Whites for a while. However, Daniel Farke’s men produced a solid away performance at the bet365 Stadium on Boxing Day to go to the summit of the Championship table.
A brace from Joel Piroe on Thursday night gave Leeds a crucial away win and the three points they needed to move to the top of the Championship standings.
We argued that Leeds have a great opportunity to fix their away form during the festive period due to the quality of teams they would be facing and a win over Stoke is a sign of things to come.
Burnley’s win over Sheffield United at Turf Moor on Boxing Day meant that Leeds got the chance to move to the top but the automatic promotion race has become even tighter as the top three are separated by just one point.
Sunderland’s 2-2 draw away at Blackburn Rovers means they have lost some ground and are now four points behind Leeds in the league table.
Leeds United get the early advantage but there are more twists to come
Leeds United secured 90 points but still managed to finish just third and lost the playoff final against Southampton at Wembley last season.
Last season’s points haul would have got Leeds promoted in almost all seasons in the last two decades as they became the first side to breach the 90-point mark and still not get promoted in 26 years.
The 2024/25 Championship campaign is shaping up to be a more normal season and if Leeds match their points haul from last term, they are certain to get promoted.
As things stand, Leeds are in line to match or get close to what they did last year and are now one of the favourites for automatic promotion to the Premier League.
The win over Stoke has removed some of the doubts about their away form but there are tougher challenges ahead and Leeds can’t afford to slack.
Daniel Farke has the experience of getting teams promoted but so does Sheffield United manager Chris Wilder and Burnley boss Scott Parker.
Leeds will be on the road again on Sunday when they take on Derby County at Pride Park and have a tough home game against Blackburn Rovers on New Year’s Day.
The Whites need to prove at Derby that they can consistently perform away from home and then take care of a Blackburn side who are in good form and recently beat the Whites at Ewood Park.
Daniel Farke will need his squad to step up
Farke has changed his players around in recent games to get results. Manor Solomon has come in to replace the underperforming Wilfried Gnonto and Ethan Ampadu’s return to midfield has meant Ao Tanaka has dropped down to the bench.
However, players such as Gnonto and Tanaka could get back into the team in the next games as Farke would be forced to rotate his squad to ensure that the players remain fresh.
Players such as Largie Ramazani, Max Wober, Mateo Josephe and Patrick Bamford are expected to get opportunities soon in the coming weeks.
The Leeds boss is aware that his squad will need to step up if they are to get automatic promotion to the Premier League at the end of the season.
Farke has ensured that he praises players who are not getting game time at the moment to keep them ready for action when needed in the coming weeks and months.
There is uncertainty over whether Leeds will actually spend in the winter window and the German is believed to be unsure about adding new players to his squad in the middle of the season.
He will likely back his current squad and the fringe players to step up to the plate for the team when the team need them to.
