Welcome to the Leeds United v Newcastle United preview.
Monday 14 September and an 8pm kick-off.
Newcastle United make the relatively short trip to Yorkshire on Monday night hoping to continue their unbeaten start to the season.
They’ll be up against a Leeds side who started their own season brightly but took a battering off Chelsea in their last match.
This is the sixth straight Toon match on Live TV with Sky TV once again inconveniencing travelling supporters safe in the knowledge that NUFC will be backed by a sold-out away section.
There really have been some absolutely epic encounters over the years between the two sides and (famous last words) this has all the ingredients for another classic.
Form
Newcastle are enjoying an unbeaten start to their season that has now stretched to five matches. Draws at home to LiVARpool and Bournemouth sandwiched a fine away win at Tottenham meaning we’ve taken five points from a potential nine in the League, we’ve also seen off Championship sides West Brom and Millwall in the League Cup. We’ve scored ten goals in these five matches and conceded six.
Leeds got their campaign off to a great start with wins in both the league and cup against Nottingham Forest. They then drew 1-1 with both Brentford and Brighton before receiving a hammering in a bizarre match at Stamford Bridge in the League Cup. They’ve scored eight goals in their five games and conceded eight (with six of those coming in the last match!).
Last time out
Newcastle travelled to Millwall on Tuesday night in the League Cup and survived a potential banana skin by scoring a late goal to book their place in the last sixteen of the tournament. The lack of VAR was evident as Toon players were repeatedly pushed, pulled and wrestled to the ground at numerous corners and Millwall nearly made the breakthrough with just over ten minutes to play when hitting the base of the post. Thankfully the Toon not only survived this scare but were able to go up the other end and score one of their own which was enough to see them make the next round. Joe Willock scored his second of the season with a smart finish after great work by Lewis Hall in front of the away fans who celebrated yet another good result as we continued our positive start to the season.
Leeds travelled to Chelsea on Wednesday night and managed to receive a hiding despite scoring three goals at Stamford Bridge. Leeds took a 1-0 lead into halftime and looked good value for a place in the next round of the League Cup when doubling their advantage just three minutes into the second half. Chelsea then went on to score four times without reply in a twelve-minute spell to take a massive advantage. Leeds were able to pull one back but two further goals for Chelsea ensured a comprehensive 6-3 win for the blues.
Stat attack!
-The Toon have enjoyed seven Premier League victories at Elland Road, the most recent one coming in 2022 courtesy of a Jonjo Shelvey free-kick.
-Newcastle have lost only one of their last nine competitive visits to Leeds United.
-NUFC have only failed to find the net in two of their last sixteen trips to Elland Road.
Memorable match
In 2000/01, Sir Bobby’s magpies endured a stop-start campaign that never really got going despite a promising start that saw us top of the league after just four matches.
We travelled to Elland Road at the end of January having just suffered a miserable midweek exit from the FA Cup at the hands of Aston Villa. Things looked set to continue in a similar vein when the whites took the lead after just two minutes thanks to a Robbie Keane strike. Thankfully, the Toon hit back almost immediately when Nobby Solano, in the absence of Alan Shearer, dispatched a penalty to level the scores. Newcastle grew in confidence throughout the rest of the half and took the lead on the stroke of half-time when Clarence Acuna improvised to lift the ball over the ‘keeper despite losing his footing in the build-up. Newcastle were under almost constant pressure in the second half but managed to secure the three points through Shola Ameobi’s second goal for the club (and second in two games) when driving home from the edge of the box with a first-time strike from Solano’s knock down in front of the ecstatic away fans. The travelling Toon Army were in raptures after Ameobi’s strike which came with just four minutes left to play and ensured they’d be celebrating long into the night. This was only Newcastle’s fourth away win of the season and sadly was to be our last as Sir Bobby had to be content with a disappointing eleventh placed finish. Leeds 1-3 Newcastle.
Played for both
Ian Rush was a goalscoring legend at Liverpool and Juventus before an uninspiring spell at Leeds in 96/97 when he was only able to find the net on three occasions. Unbelievably, Kenny Dalglish signed him in 1997 hoping he would be an able replacement for Sir Les Ferdinand who had scored fifty goals in the past two seasons. Needless to say, this worked out horrifically for everyone concerned as Rush failed to score a single league goal and United went from title contenders to just barely surviving relegation. He did however score two goals in the domestic cups that were significant in their own right. His last minute strike against division three Hull City not only sealed a 2-0 win but also equalled the record for the most League Cup goals scored by a single player. Perhaps even better was to come in the FA Cup away at Everton when Rush prodded home a loose ball to win the third round tie 1-0 and set United on the way to their first final in twenty-four years.
Didier Domi signed for Ruud Gullit in 1999 and spent eighteen months at the Toon before returning to PSG. He scored three times for NUFC with well-taken strikes against Wimbledon and Coventry being overshadowed by our first ever goal at the Stadium of Light in a match we really should have won but drew 2-2. Going AWOL over Christmas in 2000 hardly ingratiated him to Sir Bobby and he fell out of favour, citing an unhappiness at living on the Quayside near ‘Godless’ fans. He had a seventeen-match loan spell at Leeds in 2004 but couldn’t prevent relegation from the Premier League.
Jonathan Woodgate signed for Leeds when he was sixteen and spent seven years at Elland Road, playing over one hundred games. He was bought by Sir Bobby in 2003 and is widely considered to be one of the best defenders we’ve had during the Premiership era when he played. Unfortunately, that was few and far between and he was sold to Real Madrid having played just twenty-eight games in eighteen months due to a number of injuries. Under different circumstances, this could have been a match made in heaven but unfortunately is just another tale of what might have been.
Managers
Matthias Jaissle after a 1-0 win away to Millwall: “We’re delighted, we’re happy, we did our job, that’s the most important thing in a cup match. I think it’s never easy playing here against Millwall, so we were aware of it, we faced it and we did it. It was hard like I expected, but I’m proud of how the lads were dealing with the challenge, how the lads also improved, especially compared to the first half against Bournemouth, when it comes to the physical level, to the fundamentals of the game. Therefore, we’re really pleased and I think we deserve to be in the next round. We were dominating the game in general, but there were also elements missing when we talk about the final pass, when we talk about the final shot, but there was also an opponent on the pitch who did everything to keep the clean sheet. Sometimes it takes a little bit longer to open up a game. We did it in the end. I think now we have a well-balanced squad. The lads were doing good in the pre-season, they showed their quality and I think they still have potential to even do better.”
Daniel Farke after a 6-3 defeat against Chelsea: “A bit of a crazy game. Sometimes it happens when there are loads of changes. We played with confidence. There was not even a chance for them. Then the referee decided to give a penalty. Nobody was asking for it. All of a sudden, their players came into the game. The momentum was on their side. Situations can change the whole momentum of the game. It wasn’t one incident. We had to defend moments better. It was a very equal game. The focus and detail could have been better. We tried to come back, but small, small details made the difference today.”
Charity
As it is an away match, Newcastle United fans will not be collecting opposite the Gallowgate end, for the food bank. However, you can still help out and all online cash donations are very much appreciated. For further info and/or to donate to the food bank online.
Prediction
I hope I’m not jinxing this match but I’m really looking forward to it. The atmosphere promises to be white-hot and both teams have enjoyed a good start to the season. We’ve already beaten both Tottenham and Millwall on our travels this season and I’m going for another fine away win for NUFC. I fancy this to be 1-1 after an even first half only for the Toon to take control in the second half and run out comfortable winners. Leeds 1-3 Newcastle.