Credit: Imago / Sky Sports

Dan Godfrey

Tue 11 March 2025 22:18, UK

Leeds United will have been watching intently on the teams around them in the Championship throughout Tuesday night.

Sheffield United, Burnley and Sunderland all take on their respective opponents 24 hours before Leeds host Millwall at Elland Road (12 March), with the former two handed the chance to leapfrog the Whites.

Portsmouth ended Leeds’ unbeaten league run of 17 games on Sunday (9 March) at Fratton Park, and Daniel Farke’s side will be desperate not to let the defeat provoke a poor streak.

Leeds players ‘annoyed Farke’ with celebrations

Leeds are in the tantalising position they are for promotion courtesy of their tremendous recent run – going 17 unbeaten in the Championship is an achievement for even the very best of its competitors.

The Whites will consider themselves in that top bracket, and won the ‘six-pointers’ in recent weeks which pitted them against Sunderland and Sheffield United.

Paul Merson however believes the celebrations which ensued after the 3-1 win at Bramall Lane (24 February) baffled Farke, who was up in the stands serving a touchline ban – for his celebration against Sunderland the previous week.

“I watched them at Sheffield United the other week,” Merson said live on Sky Sports (11 March, 19:23).

“You thought it was all over. The players thought it was all over, but I don’t think the manager did.

“The manager was upstairs and he looked stone-faced, thinking ‘what are you all doing celebrating?’; everyone was cuddling each other, and it felt like they got promoted that night.”

After Leeds meet Millwall, they travel to the capital to take on Queens Park Rangers this Saturday (15 March), before the international break takes several players across the world – something Farke will not be eagerly previewing.

Farke will not let last year happen twice

Farke knew before the season started that anything less than top two come May would be the end of his tenure, and the same for several players.

The German has led an inspired team who have really got into their groove now, and it’s important one frustrating defeat does not define the business end of the campaign.

It was in the final six games of last season where it all slowed down at the wrong time, allowing Leicester City and Ipswich Town to stride on towards the Premier League – more than likely dropping down again in time for next year.

And that would be the next challenge, bucking that horrific trend of promoted teams plummeting straight back whence they came due to the expanding gulf between the two top divisions.

But the sole priority is getting there. Leeds cannot slip into the play-offs and do it the hard way again, surely. Millwall on Wednesday now becomes even bigger.