Rather than spend time today working out all the minor details of today’s fixture list release, here’s a handy guide to all the key fixtures for Leeds United this season, and where we think the good and bad runs of fixtures are going to be.
Leeds open up their season a day later than the rest of the Championship pack, as they travel to the South West to face Bristol City on the 4th of August. The Robins finished just outside the playoff places last year and should be an excellent test for Bielsa’s men to see if they’ve put the end of last season behind them, and speaking of which…
After last season’s playoff semi-final defeat, the one fixture that most Leeds fans are looking forward to is their reunions with Derby County. Well, they’ll have to wait a little bit before they get their chance for revenge, as they meet the Rams at Elland Road on 21st September. However, what should get nerves going around the fans is the return game, which is set to take place on the penultimate weekend of the season, April 25th.
Leeds found themselves in a similar situation last year where they faced a team fighting for promotion in Aston Villa in the penultimate match. A game that curtailed into farce with a bizarre last few minutes when Leeds scored and then allowed Aston Villa to equalise after confusion over an injured Aston Villa player
The Christmas period is always a special one, that is until we get that winter break forced upon us, and Leeds face a relatively straightforward few days as they host Preston North End on Boxing day before traveling to Birmingham on 29th December before returning to the Midlands a few days later for a much harder game against fellow playoff semi-finalists West Bromwich Albion on New Year’s Day.
The final game of the season sees Leeds take on newly promoted Charlton Athletic on 2nd May. And regardless of whether Leeds are fighting for something or have already secured it, it’s set to be an emotional day as the day will mark a return for former Leeds United Lee Bowyer, although he narrowly avoided missing out on all the fun before signing a new contract at The Valley.
The hardest stretch?
Late November to Christmas time is where Leeds face their trickiest patch. They start the run of games by playing Middlesbrough who narrowly missed out on the playoffs last year on 30th November, before playing three teams in the space of four games who were relegated last year and are among the bookie’s favourites to be competing for promotion. With a trip to Huddersfield Town on the 7th December, then a game at home to Hull on the 10th, they play Cardiff City at home and Fulham away in back to back games on the 14th and 21st respectively.
Where can we go on a run?
The end of the season was Leeds’ downfall last year, when they choked the chance at automatic promotion with a disastrous April and May including losses to struggling Wigan and relegated Ipswich.
Hopefully, it won’t be the same this year as they face a run of games against teams who didn’t finish higher than 10th last year, two of them newly promoted sides. Starting with Luton Town at home on 21st March, they face Blackburn Rovers away on 4th April, Stoke City at home on 10th April, Swansea City away on 13th April and Barnsley at home on 18th April. If Leeds are still fighting for something, then this is the perfect opportunity for them to either stave off a challenger, or catch up to them.
The full list of fixtures can be found here: https://www.leedsunited.com/news/team-news/25070/fixtures-announced-for-2019-20-season, and a reminder that all fixtures are subject to change.