Leeds United must address obvious problem to save automatic promotion chances — YEP 27/12/23

Leeds United have one area they must improve if they want to make up ground on the automatic promotion spots.

By Jamie Kemble

Leeds United have suffered a fresh blow in their automatic promotion chase, but they already know what they need to correct if they want to make up ground on those above. Daniel Farke's men thought they had set themselves up for the perfect festive period after beating Ipswich Town in the final game before Christmas.

That win reduced the gap to seven points, but the Whites suffered a defeat away to Preston North End on Boxing Day, and Ipswich drew with leaders Leicester City to regain a point. Eight points now separate Leeds, who have dropped to fourth place, from second spot, and they go up against serious play-off contenders West Brom in the Midlands on Friday.

But as the New Year approaches, Farke and his coaching staff don't need to do a whole lot of research to uncover one of Leeds' biggest problem. While the Whites sit near the top in both the home and away tables, there is a big gap between their performances at Elland Road and on the road.

At home, Leeds have picked up an impressive 28 points from 36, and only Leicester (with 30 points) and Ipswich (with 29) have picked up more points in front of their own fans. Though, away from home, the Whites have the fourth best away record in the division and they are even further behind the top performers.

While Leicester have picked up 29 points away from home and Ipswich have racked up 24, Leeds have had to settle for just 17 points from a possible 36. Southampton, who have just leapfrogged Leeds, have 22 points from away trips.

The causes? It's not exactly clear why Leeds have picked up fewer wins away from home, while they are unbeaten at Elland Road. The obvious factor would be the absence of home support. Elland Road has been a fortress again this season, while fans are creating big atmospheres away from home, with Preston selling out for the visit of the Whites on Boxing Day.

Leeds will need to learn to manage those big atmospheres away from home, particularly if they are going to end up in the play-offs. There have been some key away wins, with the biggest being the Leicester win at the King Power Stadium, but consistency is key in an automatic promotion race, and Leeds can't afford to maintain such a big gap between their home and away form.

At their current pace, Leeds will be lucky to get to 90 points, and while that is an impressive figure, it's no secret that both Leicester and Ipswich are on pace to get to 100 points and beyond. Given Leeds can hardly improve their home form, there's only one place the necessary improvements can come from, and that's away from home.