Two sides looking to rebound from defeats last time out meet in West Yorkshire this weekend as Leeds United take on Newcastle United.
- Date: 30/08/2025
- Kick-off: 5:30pm
- Location: Elland Road, Leeds
Leeds United come into this game with three points from their opening two games. The Whites began with a good performance at home to Everton in a 1-0 win, where a questionable penalty proved to be the difference between the two teams, followed by a 5-0 thrashing away at Arsenal. Then, Leeds suffered an embarrassing loss to what was effectively a Sheffield Wednesday youth team in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night, losing 3-0 on penalties following a 1-1 draw.
In light of the last two games, manager Daniel Farke has been the subject of significant criticism. A lack of tactical adaptability and the absence of a clear identity on the pitch were major concerns around Farke in the Championship, and it looks as though those problems are rearing their head once again. The decision to start the physically lacklustre Joel Piroe up front against Arsenal was very hard to rationalise, and the team's rote showing against a team of Sheffield Wednesday youth team players on Tuesday night was a huge wakeup call.
It might seem irrational for fans to start questioning Farke this early in the season, but there were reports at the back end of the last campaign that the club's ownership were considering parting ways with Farke despite promotion having been sealed. However harsh, there were clear reasons for that being a debated topic, and those reasons are once again becoming clear.
Leeds need a big performance here or Daniel Farke risks losing the support of the fans. Many have already started veering in that direction, so he needs to act fast to get them back on side.
Newcastle United come into this game with one point so far this season. The Magpies started the season with a 0-0 draw against Aston Villa, followed by a 2-3 loss to Liverpool.
Despite still being without a win, Newcastle have performed admirably, and should really have more than one point on the board. The absence of Alexander Isak has been stark, and the result against Villa likely would have been different with him on the pitch, while an Anthony Gordon red card against Liverpool gave the team a needless uphill battle, despite the fact they still managed to score two goals with ten men and almost salvage a draw in what was quite an incredible performance.
Newcastle clearly need bodies through the door in the coming week because if Eddie Howe is given the tools, he's shown he'll forge a successful team. There are plenty of reasons to be positive about Newcastle this season but their ceiling all depends on their transfer market activity.
