Paul Heckingbottom knows exactly what he wants from his Preston North End side as the former Leeds United boss targets a shock result upon his Elland Road return on Saturday.
Speaking during his pre-match press conference, Heckingbottom warned his Preston players to deny Leeds their customary early goal if they are to stand any chance of being steamrollered by Daniel Farke’s occasionally free-scoring but always potent frontline.
Dan James netted the winner at Middlesbrough on Tuesday – scoring after less than 180 seconds – and that was Leeds United’s twelfth goal in the opening 15 minutes of a Championship game this season. More than any other side in the division.
Heckingbottom knows that Preston will need fortune on their side too. But the visiting Lillywhites can make their own luck by ‘defending well’ and being ‘clinical’ with any chances that do come their way.
In short, the man who briefly coached a pre-Marcelo Bielsa revolution Leeds side back in 2018 is looking to avoid the sort of end-to-end chaos which characterised Preston’s most recent Elland Road victory fifteen years ago.
Leeds United and Preston North End played out ten goal thriller
Leeds United 4-6 Preston North End.
Yes, you read that right. Leeds 4-6 Preston. On one Tuesday evening back in September 2010, Simon Grayson’s side conceded half as many goals in 74 minutes as title rivals Burnley have conceded [12] across the entirety of the current Championship campaign.
After big John Parkin had put Preston ahead in a blistering start for the visitors, Leeds roared into a 4-1 lead on the brink of half-time with Luciano Becchio, Alex Bruce and a Davide Somma brace seemingly guaranteeing a win against a Lillywhites outfit who arrived in West Yorkshire with just six points from their first eight games.
Simon Grayson was left feeling humiliated at Elland Road
Now, Daniel Farke’s current vintage have thrown away their fair share of leads in 2025. See Blackburn Rovers, Hull City, West Brom and Swansea City. But conceding a last-gasp equaliser against Blackburn or Illan Meslier’s horror show against Swansea is one thing.
Tossing aside a 4-1 advantage to lose 6-4 on home soil is, fortunately, the sort of shoot-yourself-in-the-foot blundering for which the re-working of that Joy Division classic was intended.
“I still had a go at the players at half-time, because we had given them far too many opportunities. When we were 4-1 up, we needed to be more professional but we gave them a chance to get back into the game,” Grayson fumed as the aforementioned Parkin powered a hat-trick past Shane Higgs in the Leeds goal.
“There were far too many errors – both individually and collectively. We made stupid mistakes and it cost us.
“To lose 6-4 at home is unbelievable really, and embarrassing.”
Not including a 2-0 EFL Cup defeat a few years back, that most remarkable of ten-goal triumphs remains Preston North End’s most recent league victory at the home of Leeds United.
A result, let alone a scoreline result, Farke will have little desire to repeat.
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