Leeds United will take on Watford this Tuesday night, following the latter’s Saturday loss to Luton Town.
The Whites marked their return from the international break with a crucial 2-0 win over Sheffield United at Elland Road on Friday night, a key result against a promotion rival.
Leeds are pushing for a second straight win to maintain their grip on second place as the competition heats up. Daniel Farke and his team were momentarily in second after Burnley jumped ahead of them with their 2-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday.
The Yorkshire side have taken 19 points from their opening 10 matches, losing just once to promotion rivals Burnley. As a result, Leeds need to continue this impressive form as the games pile up on the squad.
Did Leeds make a statement against Sheffield United?
Leeds United v Sheffield United – Imago
Sky Sports pundit Jobi McAnuff felt the Whites’ performance against the Blades last Friday was a statement and a result as they continue their push for promotion.
“I think it’s now five of the top seven they’ve come up against, only Burnley that have managed to beat them so from that point of view, particularly after everything that happened losing those key players in the summer and also losing [Ethan] Ampadu and [Ilia] Gruev for the last couple of games,” McAnuff said (h/t Leeds Live).
“[Farke] will be delighted with that start and I think what we’ve seen from them is that they’re certainly going to be there in terms of the top of the table. I think it’s massive to beat a team that’s also expected to be there. We saw how close it was last year and how much that can make in terms of beating your rivals so yeah, it’s a brilliant start.”
Leeds will face a Watford side struggling on the road. Manager Tom Cleverley plans to meet with his coaching staff before their upcoming trip to Elland Road to address the team’s road struggles.
“There’ll be an inquest into what we can do as a coaching staff to make the players realise, but for me it’s an away form thing and it’s something we really have to address,” Cleverley said. “We are flat away from home, we’re not committing to trying to play football and we’re just not standing up to the battles well enough either.
“So that will result in some shaky performances and it’s absolutely my responsibility to make sure the team looks like it has an identity away from home and can start picking up results.”
Leeds United do have problems of their own however, including injuries which are stretching their squad depth. This has led to links to former Liverpool forward Ryan Kent.
