Leeds fans ‘wildly outnumbered’ as they unfurl display v Man United in Stockholm
Leeds United are kicking off their pre-season with a friendly derby against Manchester United.
The match, taking place on Saturday (July 19) in Stockholm, Sweden, will serve as the Whites first taste of Premier League opposition, ahead of their return to England’s top division.
The sides are meeting in pre-season for the second time in as many years, after meeting in the Norwegian capital of Oslo in 2023 – United won out that time 2-0.
The match kicks off at 2pm BST in Stockholm’s Strawberry Arena.
Leeds outnumbered in Sweden
Leeds fans have travelled in their numbers to Sweden for the friendly, with Manchester United benefitting from a large majority within the Scandinavian capital.
New signing Lukas Nmecha is making his unofficial debut up front for Daniel Farke’s team, with Jaka Bijol, who arrived from Udinese in June, also starting at the back.
Jack Harrison’s future has looked uncertain this summer, the winger returning to Elland Road this summer following two years on loan at Everton.
But the Englishman is starting for Farke, who also elects to start Wilfried Gnonto and Ao Tanaka.
Karl Darlow starts in goal, continuing the favouring of the former Newcastle United man over Illan Meslier towards the end of last season.
New signings Gabriel Gudmundsson, Sebastiaan Bornauw and Sean Longstaff, whose arrival was confirmed by Leeds on Friday (July 18), also appear on the bench.
Leeds fans were pictured unfurling a display as the teams lined up, holding coloured sheets that spelled out “MOT” when all raised together.
But according to Graham Smyth (July 19), who is in the stands, fans of the West Yorkshire club are “wildy outnumbered”.
Smyth said: “Leeds fans wildly outnumbered but the only ones singing.
Just aired ‘stand up if you hate Man U’ and some unfortunates in red who have bought tickets in the Leeds section are caught between sitting and seeing nothing or standing in apparent agreement”
Leeds will hope to hit ground running
Farke would have hoped to have the majority of his new signings from the get-go at the start of pre-season.
Luckily, a strong number have made the trip, with Leeds still expected to make several more signings in the coming weeks.
Comparatively, United boss Ruben Amorim has just one new signing, Matheus Cunha, to boast in his squad so far.
Farke will hope his team can get off to the best possible start by claiming an early scalp on one of their Premier League opponents next season.
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