Leeds United take on Oxford United in the Championship on Friday. A winnable game for the Whites, but a huge potential banana skin nonetheless.
Leeds United took another huge step towards promotion to the Premier League after they beat Preston North End 2-1 last time out, courtesy of goals from Manor Solomon and Jayden Bogle.
And Sheffield United lost 2-1 at Plymouth Argyle to now fall five points behind the top two, with Daniel Farke’s Leeds and Scott Parker’s Burnley both on 88 points.
Chris Wilder got into an altercation with Plymouth Argyle players after that game with one such player being Leeds United loan man Darko Gyabi.
On Friday, the Blades will look to avoid a fourth-straight defeat when they welcome Cardiff City to Bramall Lane, and they’ll hope that Oxford United can take points off Leeds United, as they did against Sheffield United at the start of the month.
Sheffield United’s first of three-straight defeat was suffered at the Kassam Stadium where Leeds United play on Friday.
Gary Rowett eyeing Leeds United upset after beating Sheffield United
Oxford United were in 20th place of the Championship table when they sacked Des Buckingham and replaced him with Gary Rowett in December. They now sit in 17th place and have a six-point gap to the bottom three after beating Sheffield Wednesday last time out, with three 1-0 wins in their last five games.
Speaking to the club ahead of the Leeds United game on Friday, Rowett has backed his side to pull off another upset against the Championship leaders, just a couple of weeks after the U’s beat Sheffield United 1-0 in dramatic fashion.
Rowett told the club: “We know the next game is a tough game but we have shown against Sheffield United that we are more than capable of causing those sort of teams problems and that’s exactly what we will try and do.”
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Daniel Farke’s record vs Gary Rowett
Farke has only faced five managed more times than he’s faced Rowett in his managerial career. Interestingly, Farke has only ever beaten a Rowett side once in his career.
Rowett’s sides are typically physical and somewhat old school in the way they play. But at Millwall and now at Oxford United, Rowett proved that his teams are more than ready to compete against the best in the Championship.
Three meetings between Farke and Rowett have ended in draws with two wins for Rowett’s sides.
Earlier in the season, Leeds United thumped Oxford United 4-0 at Elland Road. Friday’s game kicks off at 8pm.
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