Leeds United fans on Chelsea disbelief, 'worrying' Daniel Farke decision & 'lethal' Newcastle attack
The YEP Leeds United jury have had their say on Wednesday’s cup defeat and the upcoming visit of Newcastle United to Elland Road.
Leeds United will be desperate to bounce back from a chaotic 6-3 Carabao Cup defeat at Chelsea when they host Newcastle United on Monday night. Daniel Farke’s side remain unbeaten in the Premier League, taking five points from nine on offer.
Monday night visitors Newcastle boast an identical record, sitting above the Whites on goal difference. Below, the YEP jury share their thoughts and predictions on the game ahead...
Neil Grewer
Both Leeds United and Newcastle United have started the season well with one win and two draws with the Magpies having had, on paper, the more difficult fixtures in Liverpool, Spurs and Bournemouth. From what I have seen, Newcastle have been lethal on the break. They will have studied the Leeds concessions against Chelsea and doubtless spotted areas of weakness, although they lack a Cole Palmer/Morgan Rodgers to exploit as easily.
The Leeds team selection will, I expect, include the back-three as against Chelsea, Tarik Muharemovic is nailed on the left, James Justin is proving an excellent cover for Joe Rodon in the roving right-sided role and Jaka Bijol is solid in the middle with Nico Elvedi looking a capable deputy for any of these.
Anton Stach will likely partner ‘Captain Fantastic’ Ethan Ampadu in the midfield and DCL will lead the line, with the two supporting positions being less certain though I expect Noah Okafor to be one of these. So, Leeds need to be tight and mindful of Newcastle breaking quickly but have the attacking options to break down the opposition and, hopefully, the intense ER atmosphere under the lights, will give us the edge. That said, I’m expecting a draw.
Prediction: Leeds United 2 Newcastle United 2.
Evan Seaman
On Monday evening Leeds will be looking for an immediate reaction from their crazy league cup game against Chelsea which ended in a 6-3 defeat despite leading 2-0 at one point. However, Daniel Farke's side will take the positives from that match as they produced a very competitive first-half performance against a Chelsea team put together with a lot more money spent than Leeds did.
The key turning point in the game seemed to be when Chelsea's manager Xabi Alonso made four substitutions at half-time and brought on the likes of Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers and Pedro Neto and the Leeds defence struggled to deal with their creativity after that. In terms of team news for the Newcastle game, Joe Rodon is still out for several weeks with a thigh problem, and Newcastle are also without England centre-back Dan Burn.
Newcastle are coming off the back of their 1-0 victory in the EFL Cup against Millwall and are also sixth in the league so they will be in buoyant mood ahead of the clash at Elland Road.
Prediction: Leeds United 3 Newcastle United 2.
David Watkins
Leeds got a reality check on Wednesday night – the Chelsea millions have enabled them to put together an attack that is going to worry most teams this campaign, and we simply couldn’t cope once their big boys came out to play. Now we have to put that behind us and show we can compete with most teams, starting with a Newcastle side in transition after the Eddie Howe era.
The Toon have had a steady start to the season – a 2-2 draw with Liverpool, a comfortable win against a Spurs side in disarray and a home draw with fancied Bournemouth, suggesting they are already up to speed and will pose problems. They have also progressed in the Carabao Cup with victories against a couple of Championship sides.
Leeds will have to be nigh on perfect, and we’ll need the rub of the green to get a positive result; we'll need to put chances away and stay solid at the back. At our best, we can beat Newcastle but, with many draws already on the board in the Premier League so far this season, I’m plumping for another one here.
Prediction: Leeds United 2 Newcastle United 2.
Keith Ingham
Leeds bowed out of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday but, for the life in me, I cannot believe how, from 2-0 up, we conceded four goals in around 12 minutes. Chelsea won 6-3 with second-half, two-goal sub’ Cole Palmer the chief tormenter. You have to question when the game was at 2-2 why Daniel Farke didn’t bring on some of his regular first teamers. Disappointing, bad and a little worrying. Leeds have to wait until next Monday for their next league fixture against Newcastle under the lights at Elland Road.
I expect near the same team that started at Brighton. The team that started at Chelsea might not get another chance to impress their manager after the second-half collapse on Wednesday. Noah Okafor should be back up front but the other place behind DCL could be either Wilson or Aaronson, neither of whom fill me with confidence.
Last season it was a draw at Elland Road early in the season but Newcastle won a 4-3 thriller at St James’ Park, Harvey Barnes netting the winner after 102 minutes. The winger has had a knack of getting goals against Leeds. It will also be my granddaughter’s first visit to Elland so I’m hoping it’s a winning one! Just have a feeling Leeds can edge it.
Prediction: Leeds United 2 Newcastle United 1.
Mike Gill
After a night of metropolitan madness at Chelsea, United return to the serious business of Premier League progression as they welcome Newcastle United to Elland Road for a Monday-night fixture. It is unlikely that anything can be learned from their trip to London and the most important thing is that the Whites put the experience behind them.
Newcastle have had a similar start to Leeds in the Premier League with two hard-fought draws against Liverpool and Bournemouth and a win against Spurs. Last season, they finished 12th with four more points than Leeds. This was deemed to be disappointing and manager Eddie Howe was relieved of his duties.
The Geordies are now managed by Matthias Jaissle who has a lot to prove. Most Whites fans will be looking forward to this fixture with relish, especially under the lights at Elland Road. It will be a tough challenge but Leeds will be up for it and however tough, three points will be expected at LS11.
Prediction: Leeds United 2 Newcastle United 1.