It’s fair to say Sir Alex Ferguson is not a particularly popular figure at Leeds United.
Yet, one of the Manchester United legend’s many timeless quips certainly appears to apply to a Leeds side sitting pretty at the top of the Championship table under Daniel Farke.
Attack, Ferguson said, wins you games. But it is the defence which wins you titles. And while Leeds United have a frontline most second-tier managers can only dream of – substitute Largie Ramazani scored and assisted against Sheffield Wednesday in Sunday’s 3-0 Yorkshire derby victory – those defensive stats also make for pretty impressive, potentially title-winning, reading.
Only Sheffield United and Burnley have conceded fewer goals than Leeds’ tally of 19 in 27 matches. Delve a little deeper, however, and those underlying numbers are even more eye-catching.
Leeds have conceded the least shots and shots on target of any Championship team in 2024/25. In fact, their opposition are averaging only two shots on target per game.
A ‘ground-breaking’ statistic which has many EFL experts predicting that Leeds will lift the Championship title in May. A statistic which has not gone unnoticed by Johannes Hoff Thorup either, his Norwich City side preparing to travel to Elland Road on Wednesday night without the Golden Boot-chasing Borja Sainz to call upon against the division’s most watertight backline.
Norwich City boss on why Leeds United are top of the Championship
“The start of the season was not good enough. The mid-block of the season was not good enough defensively. That is probably why we are where we are,” Thorup reflects. “But, if we look at Leeds, they are probably up there on the offensive stats but also up there on the defensive stats.
“That is the reason why they are top of the table. So its fair to say they are probably the toughest test for us at the moment, but that’s also what makes it exciting.”
Norwich are sitting on the coattails of the play-offs but have lost as many games [nine] as they have won so far.
Thorup insists that The Canaries will not simply roll over against a team with such a superior home record, however. Both he and his Norwich charges are heading to Yorkshire desperate to bust coupons up and down the land.
“I think we can beat everyone in the league, and I think we can go to Leeds and win,” adds the former Nordsjaelland boss. “That is the motivation I have to bring to the players. They definitely think we can go to Leeds and win. It’s going to be difficult, just look at the standings but we definitely believe in it.
It could have been interesting to see if we had everyone available, how we could go to Leeds and perform. Now, we are where we are and it is also going to be interesting.”
Thorup highlights similarities with Daniel Farke’s Norwich City side
Norwich and Leeds played out a 1-1 draw back in October.
Daniel Farke knows the threat of Norwich striker Josh Sargent better than anyone, and the American scored against his former boss in a game in which Leeds again needed to call upon summer signing Ramazani after the break.
Thorup feels he has inherited a Norwich side similar to the one Farke led to two promotions out of England’s second tier, even if he is yet to enjoy the same success.
“Probably the story with Daniel here is a little bit similar,” says the 35-year-old Dane. That’s why I think he is a good coach and why his teams are playing some good football.
“There are some similarities and, if the story can also be similar, than that’s fine with me!”
Leeds could be without Brenden Aaronson and Manor Solomon against Norwich, with Farke admitting that both are facing a race against time after picking up knocks against Sheffield Wednesday.
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