Scott Parker has been speaking about Leeds United and Daniel Farke ahead of his Burnley side’s trip to West Yorkshire.
Parker is set to manage a team for the first time in front of supporters at Elland Road having lost 3-0 on his only visit with Fulham when football was still behind-closed-doors.
Leeds‘ clash with the Clarets looks like the fixture of the weekend in the Championship with the two clubs both very much the pre-season favourites for promotion.
It has not been easy for either manager over the course of the opening month of the season as both Leeds and Burnley were signing and selling players right up until the deadline.
However, the fact the two sides are currently sat in the top six already shows this could be a match packed full of quality.
Parker delivers verdict on Leeds and Farke
Like Farke, Parker has also been able to win promotion from the Championship on two separate occasions in recent years.
Parker was actually linked with the Leeds job just over 12 months ago before Farke’s appointment.
It is also just the second time the two managers have ever met during their careers, with Farke coming out on top 6-0 with Norwich in a Carabao Cup tie against Bournemouth in August 2021.
Speaking ahead of the match to the burnleyfootballclub.com, Parker is expecting a very difficult afternoon against a ‘very good side’, and in front of a hostile atmosphere.
He said: “It’s a big test for us against a very good side. They have a pretty settled team, obviously they made some changes in the summer, but a lot of the players have been there a while now.
“Then you add that to the atmosphere that a full Elland Road brings and that brings a challenge, but it’s an exciting challenge for us and we are looking forward to going into this weekend.
“It’s an extremely difficult task, from the outside some people see it as just the squad, which of course gives you a great opportunity, but so much more goes into it.
“To get a team out of this league more than once, I’ve full admiration for Daniel and the work he has done. They missed out narrowly last season in what is a 50/50 game, but he has a really good team there.”
- READ MORE: Paul Merson says Leeds United have just sold a player who ‘might find it hard’ in Premier League
Parker issues Connor Roberts update ahead of Leeds reunion
Connor Roberts is one of two former Leeds loanees who could be in the starting XI at Elland Road, with Jaidon Anthony now also at Burnley.
However, after picking up an arm injury on international duty, Roberts’ availability is not certain. Here is what Parker had to say about his chances of playing.
“Connor has just reported in today [Thursday],” he said. “We’ve assessed him and it doesn’t seem as bad as we initially thought. He had an awareness and came out of the game pretty quickly.
“We were just trying to work out whether it was a general over fatigue and tiredness, but again we will re-assess tomorrow and give ourselves every opportunity for him to try and make Saturday. We will see over the next 24 hours how he comes out of that.”
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