Leeds United ahead of the curve but particular action and change needed to stay there - YEP 13/10/22

Leeds United are in a better position than they were at this stage last season but will need to pick up the pace in their next six games to stay ahead of the curve.

By Lee Sobot

Jesse Marsch's Whites looked set to move into the Premier League's top half when leading in Sunday's clash at Crystal Palace but a 2-1 reverse ultimately left the Whites in 14th place. The middle of the table is very congested with just three points between eighth-placed Bournemouth and fifth-bottom Aston Villa.

Leeds are also one of just three teams in that section to have played eight games following the postponement of last month's trip to Manchester United given its proximity to the Queen's State Funeral. Despite a haul of just two points from a last possible 15, Marsch's team still have three more points than Marcelo Bielsa's side had at this stage last season.

But the Whites owe that to their strong start to the campaign which featured seven points out of a first possible nine via the home victories against Wolves and Chelsea which sandwiched the 2-2 draw at Southampton. Leeds could and should have more points in the bag with three games standing out as ones that got away.

United were 2-0 up at Southampton with just 19 minutes remaining only to leave with a 2-2 draw and a winning position ultimately counted for nothing in last weekend's clash at Palace in which Marsch's side had the chances to be out of sight. The same could be said of August's 1-1 draw at home to Everton and the nine-point haul currently achieved could easily have been significantly boosted.

But the points in the bag are the only ones that count and there are no ifs buts or maybes about the importance of United's next six games in terms of the comparison to last season but more importantly in setting the landscape for the situation faced ahead of the World Cup break. Comparatively speaking, Leeds had just suffered a 1-0 defeat after a terrible display at Southampton in their eighth game of the season last term which left Bielsa's side fourth-bottom and on just six points.

United had only bagged their first victory of the season at the seventh attempt in their previous fixture at home to Watford with the seven-point haul completed by draws at Burnley, Newcastle United and Fulham plus another stalemate at home to Everton.

But Bielsa's side had already taken in away fixtures at Manchester United and Liverpool - both of which ended in defeat - and three similarly tough fixtures await in the next six games this time around with another trip to Anfield, the visit to Tottenham Hotspur and Sunday's hosting of table-topping Arsenal.

Leeds will be huge underdogs in all three games and more so than in August's hosting of Chelsea in which the Whites defied the odds to upset the Blues in what proved Thomas Tuchel's fifth last game in charge. United's six remaining league games before the break for the World Cup are completed by a trip to bottom of the table Leicester City and home clashes against two sides who are among the market leaders to be relegated in Bournemouth and Fulham.

But Leeds themselves are sixth favourites for the drop and United's haul over the next six games could be particularly important as to how this season plays out. As far as last season was concerned, Bielsa's side followed the 1-0 reverse at Southampton with a fairly strong run in their next six games of which only the trip to Tottenham ended in defeat.

But victories at Norwich City and at home to Crystal Palace plus Elland Road draws against Wolves, Leicester City and away at Brighton completed a haul of nine points of a possible 15. Fourteen games in, Raphinha's late penalty in the 1-0 win at home to Palace put Bielsa's side on to 15 points in 15th place and five points clear of the drop zone but huge trouble was just around the corner.

United's next 12 games then yielded just eight points, only two wins and eight defeats including crushing reverses against Manchester City, Arsenal, Manchester United, Liverpool and Tottenham after which Bielsa was sacked and replaced by Marsch.

Nonetheless, Bielsa's side had at least given themselves a reasonable enough platform 14 games in, largely thanks to a decent return from the period of games that Leeds are approaching. Despite recent disappointment, Marsch's men are ahead of the curve but the Whites will need the equivalent of two wins from their next six to stay there, six points required to put Leeds where they were after 14 games last season before it all went wrong. What’s for certain is that a change on the recent haul of two points from a possible 15 is a must.