Leeds United resume their Premier League season with arguably the most important game to date as they travel to Turf Moor to face relegation rivals Burnley.
Although Leeds have enjoyed a solid start to the Premier League season, all of that hard work will be put to the test in the crunch game against Burnley.
While it may be too early in the season to call the trip across the Pennines a must-win game, Daniel Farke will know that a defeat could be extremely costly against Leeds’ relegation rivals.
There is a feeling of what might have been around Leeds’ start to the season, as a heartbreaking Gabriel Gudmundsson own goal against Fulham and a late Bournemouth equaliser cost the Whites three points.
As Leeds look to put daylight between themselves and their relegation rivals, the stats from the season to date show that they have a problem with late goals this season.
Leeds United rank among the worst in Premier League for late goals
According to the data from SoccerStats, Leeds have conceded three goals in the last 15 minutes of games in their seven matches to date this season.
Heading into matchweek eight, only four teams have conceded more goals than the Whites in the closing stages of games.
Only Nottingham Forest (6), Chelsea (4) and this weekend’s opponents, Burnley (4), have conceded more after the 76th minute, in a worrying trend for Leeds.
| Metric | Leeds United | Burnley |
| Goals Scored in the Second Half | 2 | 5 |
| Goals Conceded in the Second Half | 6 | 10 |
| Goals Scored in the last 15 mins | 1 | 2 |
| Goals Conceded in the last 15 mins | 3 | 4 |
Leeds have only scored once in the final 15 minutes of games, as Lukas Nmecha scored a late penalty to beat Everton in the first game of the season.
Only Aston Villa and Forest have scored fewer goals than Leeds in the last 15 minutes this season, as neither have found a late goal.
Leeds can put Burnley under pressure early
Leeds’ win over Wolves can provide the template for Farke, as Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Anton Stach and Noah Okafor got on the scoresheet in the first half of a dynamic away win.
Burnley’s performances so far this season show that they are vulnerable to early pressure, which is something Leeds can look to exploit.
| Metric | Leeds United | Burnley |
| Goals Scored in the First Half | 5 | 2 |
| Goals Conceded in the First Half | 5 | 5 |
| Goals Scored in the first 15 mins | 0 | 0 |
| Goals Conceded in the first 15 mins | 1 | 3 |
After seven games this season, Burnley have conceded three goals without scoring in the first 15 minutes. Overall, in the first half, Burnley have scored two and conceded five.
By contrast, Leeds have scored five and conceded five in the first half of games. If Farke’s side can hit the ground running, they could enjoy early success at Turf Moor.
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