Leeds United midfielder Ilia Gruev has attempted to explain his side’s struggles away from home in the Premier League.
Ilia Gruev started at the heart of the Leeds midfield in the recent draw against Liverpool, taking the place of Ao Tanaka in the starting line-up.
Daniel Farke now has a decision to make over whether to stick with Gruev or recall Tanaka for the tricky away trip to face Brentford.
Leeds have a poor recent track record in London, having last won a game in the capital when Raphinha scored the winner against Brentford in May 2022.
Now, Gruev has attempted to explain his side’s issues on the road, as Leeds look to add to their solitary away win in the Premier League this season.
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Ilia Gruev attempts to explain Leeds United’s poor away record
Speaking to BBC Radio Leeds, Gruev attempted to explain why his side struggled away from the bear pit that is Elland Road.
According to Gruev, the atmosphere in home games gives so much energy to the players that they struggle without it in away games.
Gruev said: “To be honest, it’s a difference if you play at home or away. You can feel the energy of Elland Road. It’s really, really tough to play for away teams at Elland Road.
“Sometimes also in the process, sometimes you will have these days, and sometimes you will go then to the Etihad, and things will happen like they happened. But you have to continue, and you have to keep going.
“Sometimes you have a bad day, or you have bad weeks maybe. But this is quite normal, and every team has this, every team. Even the top, top teams have this, and we will also have this.
“Then if you have like a poorer day away at Arsenal and they have a good day, then things will happen like they happened, you know, but this is football, and you have to keep going.”
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Leeds United set new lowest away points total in the Premier League
Although Leeds’ home form has been strong this season, their away form remains a concern, having claimed just three points on the road.
Leeds’ sole win at Wolves means they remain on course to collect their lowest ever points total away from home in a Premier League season.
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The current lowest, according to FBRef, came in the 1993/94 season, when Leeds accumulated just seven points away from Elland Road. The next lowest came as they suffered relegation in the 2022/23 season, picking up just nine points, and suffering a heavy defeat against Brentford along the way.
In a positive omen for Farke, Howard Wilkinson’s side managed to avoid relegation in 1994, thanks largely to the 44 points they picked up at Elland Road (in a 42-game season). On current evidence, the current Leeds boss will need to do something similar this season to avoid the drop.
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