Leeds United sit at the summit of the Championship table at this stage of the season. A win at Sheffield United tonight will more or less ensure that they are on their way back to the Premier League at the end of the campaign. Many insist that the Whites belong to the top-flight of English football and they have several heated adversarial relationships with a number of the clubs in the Premier League. None more so than Manchester United who share one of the hottest rivalries with the Yorkshire giants. Whenever the two sides have met over the years, sparks have flown off and Leeds fans must be salivating at the prospect of facing Manchester United again when they get promoted to the Premier League.
The Leeds and Manchester United rivalry is a tale as old as time. The typical Yorkshire-Lancashire tussle between the two sides has often gone overboard.
There have been ugly scenes at games between the two sides and tragedy chanting goes to a whole different level at Elland Road and Old Trafford when the two sides meet.
A section of Leeds fans have never forgiven Alan Smith for joining the Red Devils in 2004 and a famous FA Cup win at Old Trafford in 2010 turned Jermaine Beckford into a cult hero for the Whites fans after he scored the winner.
Recent results in the Premier League against Manchester United were not the best but Leeds fans will be looking forward to locking horns with their old rivals again next season if they get promoted.
And a former Premier League manager’s admission about the quality of the Leeds players could shock some of the Elland Road faithful.
These Leeds United players could play for Man United – Tim Sherwood
Manchester United are having a torrid season and are on course to finish in the bottom half of the league table for the first time in nearly four decades.
New manager Ruben Amorim has struggled to get a consistent tune out of the current squad of players who have been underperforming since last season.
Leeds would have loved to face this Manchester United side now and Sherwood stressed that given how the Whites are playing, some of their players will easily get into Amorim’s team because of the way they attack and defend with a sense of surety.
The former Premier League manager is backing Leeds to win the Championship easily and get promoted if they end up beating Sheffield United at Bramall Lane tonight.
“We’ve just talked about Man United”, said Sherwood on Sky Sports (via Leeds Live).
“On the evidence of what we’ve seen, some of these Leeds players could play for Man United.
“Bombing forward, nice and secure at the back – they’ve got the whole package, especially in the Championship. If they win [at Sheffield United], one ‘cup final’, they will win [the league] at a canter and parade to the finishing line.”
Leeds fans will hope Manchester United’s struggles continue next season
Daniel Farke and his players are focused on earning automatic promotion to the Premier League but nothing is stopping the fans from thinking about playing in the top flight next season.
A trip to Old Trafford and welcoming the Red Devils to Elland Road will be two of the biggest games of the season for Leeds and their supporters.
The 20-time Premier League winners are expected to carry out a major surgery of their squad in the summer and start afresh under Amorim next season.
Can you name the missing sponsor from these 10 Leeds shirts?
However, Leeds fans will be hoping that their struggles continue in the 2025/26 campaign so that their side can take advantage of a weakened Red Devils team.
Leeds are desperate to get back to the Premier League and prove again that they can hang with the big boys of English football again from next season onwards.
The Red Devils are no longer the force they once were but a win over them will continue to remain special for Leeds supporters who love to hate their Mancunian rivals.
