A huge game at the top of the Championship table sees Leicester City travel to Elland Road to face Leeds United on Friday night.
It’s set to be one of the games of the Championship season, and rightly so given the two clubs’ performance this season as well as their history. It’s the Foxes who currently having the bragging rights at the top of the second tier table and they sit a whole nine points over their opponents in second.
Although it might be a significant gap, the title race is by no means over just yet, and the gap will be cut to six if Leeds are to gain a victory. There’s no reason as to why they can’t either, and they have won each of their last eight in the Championship. In fact they are yet to lose in 2024 and are putting down a serious title challenge. Their attacking threat is well-known, however it their defence which has really shone in recent weeks with five clean sheets in a row in the league.
That streak could well be broken on Friday night though given Leicester’s rampant attack. The Foxes are the top goalscorers in the league, scoring 69 goals in just 33 games. They themselves have equally as strong of a defence and it will prove to be an intriguing game. With Leicester losing to Middlesbrough at home last weekend, they have left the door slightly open, and Leeds will now be looking to capitalise.
Both teams have the exact same ambition of getting back to the Premier League at the first opportunity and it looks highly likely that one of, if not both will achieve just that. Friday’s game will give us plenty of pointers towards the final quarter of the season, however a win for Leicester could put them out of reach.
With that in mind here’s three things to look out for in the heavyweight clash between Leeds United and Leicester City…
Leeds on the front foot
This is usually expected from a home side, but there is far more reasoning than just that. Leeds simply have to win if they want to keep any ambitions for the title alive, and will also want to keep their winning streak going to consolidate their place in second.
On the other hand, Leicester can afford to draw this, and Enzo Maresca will probably be more than happy with the points being shared pre-match. A draw would keep them nine clear of their opponents and although Ipswich Town and Southampton could both then close the gap, it appears that Leeds are the main challengers.
Goals
This is fairly self-explanatory, with two of the best attacks in the league, the game should have plenty of fireworks. Both teams love going forward and as a result it will be a very entertaining matchup which should bring a fair few goals with it.
That being said, they do possess the joint-best defensive record in league between them and therefore maybe may not seem so obvious. Given what’s at stake however, as well as the attacking quality on show, it will certainly not be 0-0 draw, and it would come as a surprise if either side was to keep a clean sheet.
Who starts upfront for Leicester
Recent weeks have seen Patson Daka lead the line for the Foxes, and the Zambian international has an astounding ten goal contributions in just 11 appearances this season. Therefore that should make him the favourite to start on Friday night and he was the starter last week against Middlesbrough, however Maresca may still opt for change.
Although he is now 37, Jamie Vardy hasn’t shown many signs of slowing down and is more than well known as a ‘big game player’. He would score off of the bench against Middlesbrough and as a result of the two, the former Premier League Golden Boot winner may well get the starting spot. Both will be utilised at some point in the game regardless, but the manager may look to start Vardy for this one.
