Leeds United fixtures were released this week, with the club now knowing how their season will fare from August to May.
The Whites are back in the Championship and a depressing reality set in on Thursday with the fixtures revealing for a tough 46-game season.
While Leeds will be wanting to clinch promotion at the first time of asking, they face one of the toughest Championship seasons in years, on paper of course.
Certain runs in the season are where the side might be tested most, and might be having the fans worrying about what lies ahead.
Here, we look at three clusters of fixtures for Leeds that look somewhat daunting on face value…
Festive trouble
The festive period is already a tough enough battle for EFL clubs with fixtures congested beyond belief, and the Championship is worse than the Premier League.
Leeds have seven games to look forward to in the month of December, starting with a home clash against Middlesbrough (4th last season), before back-to-back away days at Blackburn (7th last season), and Sunderland (6th last season).
Two successive home games follow that as Coventry City (5th last season) travel to Elland Road before newly-promoted Ipswich Town do two days before Christmas.
A trip to Preston North End awaits on Boxing Day, with 2023 capped off with a visit to the Hawthorns against Carlos Corberan’s West Brom side.
February’s slog
February’s group of teams doesn’t look like the most frightening at first, other than maybe Leicester City at the end of the month.
However, when looking at the miles the side will be putting in across their three away trips, it looks like a draining month.
Up first, Leeds make the visit to Ashton Gate to take on Bristol City, before hosting Rotherham United the week after.
After that, two successive away trips in four days come, with Leeds first travelling to the scene of Pablo Hernandez’s immortalised strike, facing Swansea City a day before Valentine’s Day.
Then, Leeds make an even longer trip down to Plymouth Argyle, thankfully on a Saturday afternoon as things stand.
The run-in
A league’s run-in always has jeopardy, and Leeds will be hoping that they have something to play for as a six-game month in April gets underway with a home clash against Hull City.
A trip to Coventry follows, before Leeds host Sunderland and the Blackburn at Elland Road.
April caps off with away trips to Middlesbrough and then QPR, before Leeds end their season with an Elland Road meeting against fellow relegated side and promotion hopefuls Southampton.
If Leeds are looking to get over the line with promotion, their credentials are going to be tested immensely here.
