Leeds United vs. Fulham
Venue: Elland Road
Kick off: 3PM
Premier League football returns to Elland Road for the first time in 16 years today when Leeds United host fellow newly-promoted side Fulham.
Marcelo Bielsa’s men made an explosive return to the top fight in a 4-3 defeat to champions Liverpool on the opening weekend, while Fulham were comfortably beaten at home to Arsenal.
There was plenty made of the champions versus champions showdown on the opening weekend, and it did not disappoint as Liverpool and Leeds played out a very early and very strong contender for the game of the season.
It spoke volumes that as much of the pre-game buzz surrounded last term’s Championship winners as it did last term’s Premier League winners, and the rest of the league was certainly put on alert after watching Bielsa’s side stand toe to toe with Liverpool.
Of course, not every game will be such a free-flowing and fearless festival of attacking football – nor such an exhibition of how not to defend – but Leeds will have taken huge belief from how close they ran a team that blew the rest of the league away last season.
Ultimately, though, they are left with no points on the board after matchday one, and a much-changed side were also dumped out of the EFL Cup on penalties at home to Yorkshire rivals Hull City on Wednesday night.
It is two defeats from two in all competitions since their long-awaited return to the top flight, then, meaning that Saturday’s match against a fellow promoted side is all the more important to get off the mark.
Fulham will be aware of exactly what to expect against Leeds – which perhaps Liverpool were not – having faced them twice in the Championship last season, although the most recent of those was the corresponding fixture which they lost 3-0.
That was also the scoreline in Fulham’s first game back in the Premier League as they were swept aside by Arsenal in the opening match of the new campaign last weekend.
Scott Parker will be hoping for slightly easier tests coming up with Leeds and Aston Villa in their next two games, and they did at least pick up their first win of the campaign in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night.
A 1-0 triumph at Ipswich Town saw them book a third-round meeting with Sheffield Wednesday next week, while perhaps just as importantly saw star striker Aleksandar Mitrovic get off the mark for the season.
The Cottagers will likely need the Serbia international to be firing again today, having only scored 24 goals in their 23 Championship away games last season – a particularly worrying record considering Leeds conceded a league-low 14 times at Elland Road in 2019-20.
Leeds United possible XI: Meslier, Ayling, Koch, Cooper, Dallas, Costa, Klich, Phillips, Hernandez, Harrison, Bamford.
Fulham possible XI: Areola, Tete, Ream, Hector, Bryan, Reed, Cairney, Kebano, Onomah, Cavaleiro, Mitrovic.