Leeds United have started their Premier League campaign with very mixed results. a win over Everton, a thrashing at the Emirates, and a stalemate against Newcastle. With four points in the bag from a possible nine, leaving the club in twelfth, Leeds fans certainly have a reason to be mildly satisfied with how they’ve begun the season.
However, with no goals being scored from open play and the failure to secure a much-needed playmaker before the end of the window, it isn’t easy to see where the goals are going to come from. In addition to this, frailties have also already been exposed by the player quality the league can possess.
Arsenal certainly figured out Leeds’s weaknesses when they put up a near-perfect attacking display in the second gameweek. Saka, Timber, and Gyokeres made it look easy as they scored five goals against Leeds at The Emirates.
So, the question remains: how will this Leeds United side, which struggles to score and has had its defence exposed despite keeping two clean sheets, survive the drop?
Leeds United’s mixed start to the season
As mentioned, Leeds United’s start to the season has been mixed. Nothing quite says that like a win, a loss, and a draw.
Their key focus in the summer has clearly been to strengthen the core attributes of the group, and in many ways, it has worked. Everton was the first true sign of this, with a starting lineup containing two players who are strong in both defensive and attacking roles, Gabriel Gudmundsson and Anton Stach. Both players joined Leeds United over the summer, and their qualities have almost instantly been recognised.
Stach was signed from a weak TSG Hoffenheim side that only missed the relegation playoffs by three points. A large amount of the Hoffenheim fanbase attributes their survival to Stach’s contributions and high work ethic. Following the announcement of Stach leaving on X, fans were clearly disappointed, with one responding:
“Ouch, that hurts a lot, thanks for your effort, without you, last year would have been the end” (translated from German).
Against Everton, Stach instantly showed his qualities. Playing the full match, Stach committed five clearances, two tackles, and made a vital block. It wasn’t just Stach’s defensive efforts which led to Leeds’s victory either; over the 90 minutes, Stach had four shots, 86 touches, and was regularly making forward passes, including four successful switches and three successful crosses.
Stach’s impressive physical qualities shone less in the match against Arsenal and Newcastle, notoriously physical sides. The five conceded goals were not just the fault of the midfield, but they were dominated in the centre of the park, nonetheless. By the 60th minute, Leeds were losing 4-0, and the midfielder trio of Stach, Gruev, and Tanaka looked beaten. Tanaka was substituted in the 58th minute due to an injury. Though Longstaff seemed to have steadied the midfield when he was substituted on, Anton Stach struggled against a ruthless Arsenal.
Gabriel Gudmundsson wasn’t much better in this match. Saka beat him to score the second goal, and he was yellow-carded for a foul on 15-year-old Max Dowman, who won a penalty for the Gunners just ten minutes later.
When will Leeds United start scoring?
The international break has probably come at the right time for Leeds. Following their losses to Arsenal and Sheffield Wednesday, a 0-0 draw against Newcastle looks to have given the fans a renewed sense of belief. Leeds have a chance to revise their approach heading into a set of fixtures where they will desperately seek a win.
When the league returns, Leeds have a run of games including Fulham, Wolves, and Bournemouth. The fanbase will understandably be upset if at least one win is earned from those matches, although there’s a reason to believe that the Whites can stretch for an unbeaten trio of games as they face less impressive attacks than they did against Everton and Arsenal, who have scored five and six goals this season, respectively.
Fulham and Wolves sit in 18th and 19th, each just scoring two goals, while Bournemouth are in seventh with four goals. It’s entirely plausible that Leeds will keep a clean sheet against all three of these teams. However, the main aim for Leeds is to score goals as they are still searching for their first from open play in the Premier League. Conceding a combined 16 goals, there should be plenty of opportunities for Leeds to score.
If Leeds are to stay up, they will need these goals. A large amount of their success will rely on the fitness of their players; much of their attack consists of injury-prone players.
It’s not a secret that Dominic Calvert-Lewin has struggled with injuries; however, the lesser-known Lukas Nmecha has also had a turbulent career when it comes to injuries, as has new signing Noah Okafor, who has missed at least nine matches in each of the seven seasons of his professional career. When Calvert-Lewin was substituted on against Newcastle, he looked like a revitalised breath of fresh air for Leeds United. It’s hard to imagine Calvert-Lewin playing a full season without injuries; however, if the 28-year-old can stay fit, it’s possible to see him becoming the club’s main man up front.
Will Leeds gain points from physical strength?
It’s no secret that Leeds United have had a big transfer window. If big means making a large around of tall signings.
Of the ten signings made by Leeds this summer, just one was shorter than six feet: fullback Gabriel Gudmundsson, who is 5’11”. Teams improving their physical presence have been noticeable across the last few seasons, with teams seemingly trying to avoid being ‘bullied’ by their opposition. Despite recruiting to be a taller side, the height of the starting eleven fielded by Leeds United’s opposition has been equal to or greater in each match, with Arsenal, Newcastle, and Everton all having an average team height of 6’1″.
Wilfried Gnonto, 5’7″, and Daniel James, 5’8″, both brought down Leeds’s average height of 6’0″, or 6’1″, against Newcastle. With the new signing, Noah Okafor, joining the club for approximately £16.5m, it’s easy to imagine that he’s ready to start playing for Leeds. If he does, he’ll add height to the wings, standing at 6’1″.
So, what does this mean for Leeds United’s result? There has been a trend in recent years of new promoted Premier League sides being outmatched both physically and technically, leading to a lot of easy pushes off the ball and, in turn, a lot of retention of the ball for the stronger sides. While players who are both physically and technically world-class are likely out of Leeds United’s price range, just fixing one of those factors will make the Whites less susceptible to being thrashed in consecutive matches.
The three upcoming matches for Leeds have all started their three matches with a much shorter lineup than Everton, Arsenal, or Newcastle did. Whether or not Leeds United can prove that their method of signing big presence players will be tested in these matches, as fans will understandably be frustrated if players such as Anton Stach (6’4″), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (6’2″), or Pascal Struijk (6’3″) are outmuscled by players who are several inches shorter in height.