Leeds United sit second in the Championship standings and are one of the strong favourites to earn automatic promotion to the Premier League this season. The Whites became the first side since the 1997/98 season not to get promoted despite scoring 90 or more points last season. A similar haul will likely book them a ticket for the top flight this time around and Leeds are on course to doing so. However, the games during the festive season will not only test their squad’s mettle but could also end up defining their season for one very good reason – their away form.
The Whites are in a good position at this stage of the season and if last season is anything to go by, they should reach the 90-point mark again at the end of the ongoing campaign.
The 2023/24 Championship season was an outlier and Leeds should expect to get promoted to the Premier League this time around if they match the previous campaign’s points tally. However, there are roadblocks that they have to overcome to reach that stage.
Injuries and suspensions often derail teams in the Championship but Leeds have so far managed to navigate those problems without too much disruption. Joe Rodon and Pascal Struijk have done well in the absence of Ethan Ampadu and Joe Rothwell and Ao Tanaka have not allowed Leeds to feel the injury absence of Ilia Gruev.
However, Leeds are set to embark on a gruelling run of games in the next two weeks and the festive season fixtures could tell a lot about their promotion hopes.
It’s the away form that will worry Leeds United in the next fortnight
Leeds are set to welcome Oxford United at Elland Road on Saturday and are overwhelming favourites to notch up another home win in front of the fans in West Yorkshire.
Any other result will be a major shock as Leeds have been nothing short of imperious at home this season. Their 3-1 win over Middlesbrough last week was Leeds’ ninth home win in eleven league games this term. They have scored 25 times and conceded just six goals at Elland Road in the Championship.
However, while the home form is a source of comfort for Leeds, their away form should make them jittery about the festive fixtures as they have three games on the road before the FA Cup clash next month.
Leeds have a trip to Stoke City on Boxing Day before travelling to Pride Park to take on Derby County. After the home game against Blackburn Rovers on New Year’s Day, they will face Hull City at the MKM Stadium.
Leeds should be beating these teams on the road but can they?
Stoke, Derby and Hull are all on the wrong side of the Championship table and a team vying for promotion should be beating them at this stage of the season.
However, Leeds have won just three of their ten games on the road this season and we have already explained why they need to drastically improve their away form to sustain their challenge for automatic promotion.
A look at their performances at home, all three sides have middling to poor records on their turf this season and if there is a run of away games Leeds would have wanted to improve their form on the road, this would be the ideal set of teams they would have wanted to face.
Stoke, who are Leeds’ Boxing Day opponents, have been average at home this season, winning just three of their eleven games at the bet365 Stadium. They have managed to record five draws, which shows while they are not winning much at home, the Potters would be a hard side to beat for Leeds a day after Christmas.
Derby have a better record at Pride Park and have won half of their ten league games at home this season. They have lost three times as well but on paper, this could be the trickiest test for Leeds during the festive feast.
Hull are one team Leeds should be beating regardless of where they are playing. They are rooted to the bottom of the Championship this season and have won just one of their eleven home games. Five defeats and five draws at the MKM show that Leeds should score a comfortable victory to mark the end of the festive period of fixtures.
This is a proper chance for Leeds to improve their away record and set things straight on the road. However, a slip-up or two will make fans nervous as tougher away games are on the horizon and good home form might not be enough to keep them in the top two at the end of the season.
