Leeds’ start to 2024-25: a tough race but a chance to make a mark

Leeds United know the task ahead of them.

It’s simple: aim to beat every team in the Championship in 2024-25 to gain promotion. In reality, Leeds won’t win them all, but with the release of the fixture list for the new season, they now know when they will face their opponents.

Daniel Farke’s side will start the season at home when they take on newly-promoted Portsmouth in a midday kick-off on Saturday 10th August and finish it very far away from home at Plymouth Argyle on Saturday 3rd May.

In between are trips to Stoke City on Boxing Day and a home game against Blackburn Rovers on New Year’s Day.

And then there are the games every fan will be looking for, with local and historic rivalries to think about. After promotion last season, Derby County are back in the second tier and will play Leeds back-to-back in December. Paul Warne’s side come to Elland Road on December 7 and Leeds make the return trip to Pride Park on December 29.

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Leeds Championship fixtures: full schedule and dates 2024-25

Both games against Millwall are midweek games as it stands. First a Tuesday trip to The Den on Bonfire Night (ample opportunity for jokes about the fireworks there) and then Millwall come to Elland Road on Wednesday March 12.

But getting the season off to a good start will be important for Leeds if they are to realize their promotion ambitions this season.

Last year, it took until the fourth league game for things to gel for Farke and United got their first win in a thrilling 4-3 win away to Ipswich Town. The two draws and a defeat before that stage wasn’t a disastrous start but, in the context of the season, it was a bluff only beaten by the end-of-season exit that took them out of the automatic promotion places.

John Mousinho has worked wonders at Portsmouth, who will be ambitious despite 12 years away from Championship football. Their attacking style saw them win the League One title, with talented striker Colby Bishop to watch when they arrive at Elland Road. While it seems unlikely we’ll see a repeat of Ipswich’s back-to-back promotions anytime soon, Portsmouth won’t be going down easy and are set for a good season under an exciting young manager. Their first five games, however, could hardly be tougher.

Using a ranking system based on where each team finished last season – with relegated Premier League sides ranked as the most difficult opponents and promoted League One teams ranked as the least difficult – Portsmouth have by far the most hard start in the first five games. Their games against Leeds (away), Luton Town (home), Middlesbrough (away), Sunderland (home) and West Brom (home) have the potential to be a rough re-introduction to the second tier.

Luton, who finished highest of the Premier League’s relegated sides last season, are credited with 24 points, while West Brom, the best-performing team Leeds played last season who didn’t get promoted, count 20 points. The points continue in descending order until the final league standings in 2023-24 with Portsmouth counting for three points, Derby (2) and Oxford United (1) having been promoted through the League One play-offs.

By the same measure, Leeds are not having an easy August either, with the ninth-toughest opening five games in our table. No ranking system is perfect and, as United know all too well after late-season defeats to struggling Blackburn and Queens Park Rangers last year, anyone can beat anyone in the Championship.

Good results in that early period would be a real marker for Farke’s side. After Portsmouth, there is an away trip to West Brom, who also played in the play-offs last season and were beaten in the semi-final by eventual winners Southampton. Not taken into account in our ranking system is the fact that Carlos Corberan’s side were one of four teams in the 2023-24 Championship that Leeds failed to beat in a single league game. Like West Brom, Leeds have not registered a win against Coventry City, Sunderland or Southampton.

To round off the August fixtures, United face Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough and Hull City at Elland Road. Wednesday are an exciting prospect this season after managing to retain the services of manager Danny Rohl. Wednesday and Hull provide two early Yorkshire derbies – although the latter are a lesser-known entity following the departure of manager Liam Rosenior. His side gave Leeds a close game at Elland Road in the latter part of last season before a dramatic 3-1 victory was sealed with a Dan James goal from midfield.

Daniel Farke will bid to guide Leeds to promotion in 2024-25 (Stephen Pond/Getty Images)

The final test in Leeds’ initial five-game block will come after the September international break against Burnley. As was the case for Leeds, Southampton and Leicester City last season, all three relegated clubs will be tipped for an immediate return to the top flight – and the onus is on United to prevent that.

Losing was not a habit for Leeds last season, with the only other teams to defeat them in one of their league meetings being Stoke City, Preston North End, QPR, Blackburn and Birmingham – the latter now in League One.

Winning well and winning often is the key and Farke has found a way to do that in the most competitive Championship for years in 2023-24.

If Leeds can replicate most of that form this time around, the promotion picture should look healthy and would make for an enjoyable final day trip to Devon at Home Park. Start well in the top five and set the tone; this is Leeds’ chance to make a mark for the rest of the campaign.

(Top photo: George Wood/Getty Images)