With Burnley playing last night and tasting victory at Turf Moor against Norwich City, the pendulum swings back to Leeds United who for the sake of their fanbase (and promotion chances) have got to navigate another lunchtime kick-off – and come out with a result, this time against the lower-mid-table outfit, Preston North End.
The prize ahead of Leeds, for winning
Leeds United can return to the summit of the EFL Championship with any form of victory over Preston North End. Their 88 points match Burnley’s tally, but the Mighty Whites’ vastly superior goal difference would make them champions if the season were to end today.
The season does not cease here. Therefore, the prize for winning against Preston intensifies. There’s arguably no better resource for a football club now than momentum and confidence. Leeds have had their fair share of poor or substandard results, now is the time to capitalise and finish the season strong. Farke-ball might not be glamorous, but it can rack up wins. Another here against arguably the most challenging game out of the five left – and suddenly, the last four run-in doesn’t look as daunting.
Six days between the next fixture, full throttle required from Farke
Daniel Farke has to consider that there’s a good chunk of time between this fixture with Preston and the subsequent game, Oxford United on Good Friday. This is an early kick off, and that’s a late one, adding yet more recovery time. As such, there’s no need to rotate or rest players for these critical games. Six days and eight hours should be enough to keep the blood flowing without injury.
Pascal Struijk and Joe Rothwell might be out, but there’s a competition to start over the pitch. At the start of the season, Ilia Gruev was undroppable, yet now he seems to be a bench option. While appearing tired, Ao Tanaka seldom puts a foot wrong. Manor Solomon, also appearing jaded after a full football season, has those moments of magic that give Leeds winning situations.
There is even an argument about starting Patrick Bamford. In his two appearances off the bench this season, he’s looked surprisingly good, which nobody anticipated given he’s hardly played for the club in the best part of two years. He had a goal ruled out against Middlesbrough (wrongly) and is easily breathing down Joel Piroe’s neck for the starting forward role.
What’s in it for Preston?
Preston head to Elland Road with…well, something to play for? Realistically, they aren’t facing relegation with a seven-point gap between them and the ill-fated bottom three. Those with particular civic pride may bemoan that the sporting pride in the War of the Roses rhetoric is worth chanting about – and which side of the Pennines is better for viewpoints, house prices and anything else comparable.
Sam Greenwood visits his parent club, as the young striker is on loan at Preston. However, he can’t step onto the pitch for the game as he’s not permitted to play against Leeds during his loan. The #20 midfielder has played 36 games for Preston this season and will be missed as he’s made a decent number of goal contributions (goals, assists) while at the club.
That’s not even mentioning former Leeds manager, Paul Heckingbottom, is with Preston North End…less said the better.
Leeds looking to strike a balance in all-time series with Preston
Ok, Leeds United fans probably don’t stay up at night – but there is a record to be overturned here with Preston North End. Out of all the games played, the Lancs club has won 26 times to Leeds’ 23, and 15 stalemates have been played out since the first-ever meeting between the clubs in 1924. That being a heroic 4-0 with the Mighty Whites.
The reverse fixture this season at Deepdale was one of the 15. It was a slightly uninspiring 1-1, where Preston held the lead for the majority of the game in the cold December air. However, an injury-time own goal from Jack Whatmough gave Leeds a point away from home. Leeds’ fans will be hoping for a vintage performance befitting that aforementioned century-old result when the team won 4-0 rather than the one from four months ago.
The David Healy Derby?
The record goal scorer for Northern Ireland, David Healy, will be watching this match with conflicting emotions. Then again, he might not watch the game at all, given he is now the manager of Linfield – a 12:30 pm kickoff might not be convenient for his team’s kickoff at 3 pm. He made over 120 appearances for Leeds and Preston, when both clubs dominated the Championship.
While he scored many more goals for Preston, he never scored against Leeds—in fact, he only lined up against the Mighty Whites once during his Preston career. However, he scored four goals in a Leeds shirt against PNE. This included a brace during the 2004/05 season at Deepdale when Leeds United left Lancashire with a historic 4-2 victory.
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