Leeds United fall short of crucial Championship points tally as Leicester offer perfect promotion chance

The Whites kick-off this weekend’s Championship schedule away to Leicester on Friday evening, aiming to put right last Wednesday’s defeat to Stoke City, and continue in the same vein with which they responded against Huddersfield Town.

Farke has communicated to the Leeds squad his primary area for improvement: making the most of the chances they create. Failure to secure three points at the King Power Stadium, however, would firmly position the Whites’ record on the road in mid-table, after the first eight away matches of the season, and pose the German an altogether different problem.

Currently, Leeds are eighth in the away table, with three wins, three defeats and one draw from their opening seven Championship fixtures away from Elland Road. On home turf, it is a drastically different story as Leeds are the only second tier side still unbeaten and are averaging over 2.00 points-per-game.

Unlike Leeds, the Foxes were not subject to major squad upheaval during the summer transfer window and were able to conduct much of their incoming business during the earlier months. Consequently, there is a distinct possibility of defeat on Friday night, given Leicester have begun the season in record-breaking fashion with 13 wins from their opening 14 matches.

Farke acknowledged the Whites would be playing catch-up but even at this early stage, it would not be amiss to suggest United are the third-best team in the division, behind this weekend’s opponents and Ipswich Town - whose only defeat this season came at the hands of Leeds. That in itself is a fine achievement, but third will not guarantee Premier League football in 2024/25.

Historically speaking, there does need to be an improvement on the road if Farke’s men are to challenge for the automatic promotion spots. At the very least, they need to demonstrate consistency in their away performances. All three of this season’s league defeats have come away from home: Birmingham City, Southampton and Stoke - which is already one more than Farke’s Championship-winning Norwich City registered during the entirety of the 2020/21 campaign.

With ten points from their first seven away matches, Leeds’ record is by no means poor, but it doesn’t quite match the away tallies accrued by promoted sides in seasons past. In each of the last three Championship campaigns, teams who went up tended to earn approximately 40 points on the road. Leeds are on course for 33 as things stand.

Watford’s 2020/21 season performance is an outlier - and the lowest of any team promoted in the past five seasons - as the Hornets were promoted that year despite picking up only 32 points away from Vicarage Road. Their promotion was contingent, however, on the league’s strongest home record: 19 wins, two draws and two defeats, as well as the division’s meanest defence, conceding 30 times in 46 outings.

It has been said countless times, often by Farke, that the Championship is the toughest league in the world. This season, with the only sides above Leeds breaking records left-right-and-centre for the longevity of their winning runs, the task has been made all the more difficult to break into the top two.

Friday night’s fixture offers Leeds the chance to repeat Portman Road heroics and reinforce their credentials as automatic promotion candidates, at Leicester’s expense - but it won’t be easy, not least because of the team’s tendency to concede first in away games. Against Birmingham, Ipswich, Southampton, Norwich and Stoke, Leeds conceded the first goal - five out of seven.

Going a goal down at the King Power cannot be an option because this season whenever the Foxes have got their noses in front, they have always won. Although, it’s by no means an impossible task - Hull managed to keep Leicester at bay back in early September, recording a statement 1-0 win. Whether Leeds have the defensive nous to do the same remains to be seen.

Victory in the East Midlands could prove the catalyst for an improvement in Leeds’ consistency away from Elland Road - the performance, at the very least, needs to be. Coming off the back of a run which has seen Farke’s side win four of their last five, it is an almighty opportunity which mustn’t be passed up.