Leeds United handed four-week opportunity to change dynamic of title race

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Everyone at Leeds United is well aware of just how important it is for the club to secure promotion this year, following last season’s play-off heartbreak.

With a quarter of the new campaign gone, Daniel Farke’s men look to have built a secure footing for a promotion push, sitting in third place and only out of the top two on goal difference.

Leeds also now have an idea of who their main rivals for promotion will be, with Sunderland the somewhat surprising early pace setters, while relegated duo Burnley and Sheffield United also in the mix.

Farke’s side have five points to make up on the leaders, while they will also want to pull away from their promotion rivals in the coming weeks, with the fixture list presenting an opportunity to do just that.

Leeds can take advantage of favourable schedule

A look at Leeds’ next five fixtures shows a run of games that presents a chance to put a run together.

Under-fire boss Wayne Rooney’s Plymouth side visit Elland Road on Saturday, with the Pilgrims sitting one place and one point above the drop zone and having conceded nine goals in their last three games.

After that Leeds have a midweek trip to 10th-placed Millwall, which no-one will underestimate, but they then have three matches against teams from the bottom third of the table in QPR, Swansea and Luton.

Leeds’ next five opponents currently have an average league position of 18.6th place in the table, highlighting their upcoming advantage in the race for the Premier League between now and the end of November.

READ MORE: Darren Bent shares something worrying he has noticed about Leeds United in promotion push

How Leeds’ promotion rivals match up

While Farke and his players will be solely focused on their next opponents, fans will be keeping an eye out for rival results and this is where Leeds’ upcoming potential advantage comes in.

Every other team in the current top four has a harder upcoming batch of fixtures, as per league position, than Leeds United do, opening the door for the Whites to establish themselves in the top two.

Leaders Sunderland have the next easiest schedule, but face two top ten teams in Millwall and West Brom, while Sheffield United and Burnley’s next five fixtures see them up against teams with an average position of 12th place.

While the league will not be settled before Christmas, Leeds are well aware of the importance of putting runs together, such as the post-festive period surge last season which them make up ground after their slow start and put the pressure on the top two.