It’s the international break but that doesn’t mean Daniel Farke doesn’t have a lot of work on his hands with his Leeds United team.
It’s been a promising start to the Premier League season for Leeds United, one that has shown they can compete in the top flight and have the capability of staying up.
However, it could have been an even better start if some good performances were converted into three points, which they haven’t been on a concerning number of occasions.
12 Leeds players might be away on international duty in October, but Daniel Farke can still work with his remaining players and there are three key areas he must improve on to ensure the Whites don’t let more precious points slip through their fingers.
- Leeds United Premier League 2025-26 stats – Top goal scorers, assists and results
Leeds United need to convert more chances, Dominic Calvert-Lewin is the chief culprit
Farke hasn’t been naive and tried to keep Leeds as the free-flowing attacking outlet they were in the Championship; instead, he has made them robust, compact and difficult to break down.
Yet, Leeds still have attacking quality, even with Dan James and Willy Gnonto sidelined.
The Whites have had the 8th most shots in the Premier League in the first seven games with 85, just one fewer than Manchester City, and the 12th highest xG with 7.77.
The problem is the quality of those chances and converting the great ones when they come along.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 12 |  BrightonBrighton | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 10 | 10 | 0 | 9 |
| 13 |  Aston VillaAston Villa | 7 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 7 | -1 | 9 |
| 14 |  FulhamFulham | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 11 | -3 | 8 |
| 15 |  LeedsLeeds | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 7 | 11 | -4 | 8 |
| 16 |  BrentfordBrentford | 7 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 9 | 12 | -3 | 7 |
| 17 |  Nottingham ForestNottingham Forest | 7 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 5 | 12 | -7 | 5 |
| 18 |  BurnleyBurnley | 7 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 15 | -8 | 4 |
With seven goals scored, Leeds are underperforming on their xG by -0.77, ranking them 13th, and have a shot conversion rate of just 8.24%, the sixth worst in the division (but still better than Man Utd).
The Whites’ xG per shot of 0.09 is the joint second-worst in the league, too, showing they aren’t getting in the best positions enough.
All these stats drop even further when you take away Lukas Nmecha’s penalty goal in the opening weekend victory vs Everton.
So while Farke’s side are getting into the attacking third and troubling teams, they aren’t creating enough high-quality chances and not taking advantage of the ones they do create.
Brenden Aaronson and Pascal Struijk are both underperforming on xG more than him, but Dominic Calvert-Lewin is the biggest culprit, given that he is a striker.
His headed goal vs Wolves was exceptional, making it all the more frustrating when he can’t take advantage of glorious chances, like when he was put through on goal against Tottenham. Farke couldn’t hide his frustration with Calvert-Lewin after the game.
Farke really needs to work on Leeds’ attacking patterns so they can get in more dangerous positions and Calvert-Lewin’s finishing under pressure.
Leeds United must improve defending set pieces
If Leeds don’t take advantage of great chances when they come their way, then they will struggle to stay up. But, it’ll remain tough regardless if they continue to concede at set-pieces.
Farke’s side have conceded four times from set pieces this season, with only West Ham doing so more.
Leeds weren’t the best at defending them last season, either, but have considerably strengthened their height and physicality in the transfer window, so they should be much better now. Especially when they have scored three set-piece goals themselves.
What is even more galling is that they have twice conceded them late in games, against Fulham and Bournemouth, which undid all the good work and led to dropping crucial points.
This points to tiredness in the closing stages, with sloppy and costly mistakes being made after 90 minutes of exertion, with Gabriel Gudmundsson especially having made two terrible mistakes leading to goals in an otherwise promising start.
The manager not only needs to work on set-piece defending in the break, but also ensure his side remains focused throughout to avoid slight lapses in judgement that can have massive consequences.
As Farke himself said after the draw vs Bournemouth, his side still needs to improve: “Organisation, desire to block passes. Details.
“Unnecessary sloppy touch to give away late free-kick. Dropped too deep on free-kick and didn’t drop for second ball. Heartbreaking. This is what happens at the top level. Teams punish very little.”
Anton Stach needs to get more involved creatively
With 42.86% of their goals coming from set pieces, it’s evident Leeds need to start being more creative from open play and the midfield lies at the heart of that issue.
Now, it’s hard to be too critical given Farke has deliberately set his midfield trio out to sit deeper and make Leeds tougher to break down, but there still needs to be more from the central players when Leeds get on the ball. Especially Anton Stach.
The giant German was recruited for big money in the transfer window and has adapted well to English football, showing he is physically up to the challenge of solidifying the midfield.
Before the weekend’s fixtures, Stach had covered more ground in the Premier League than any other player, showing just how hard he has been working.
Yet, he was brought in to be the more dynamic, creative member of midfield and he isn’t delivering that consistently enough yet.
His sensational free-kick and some passages of lovely interplay vs Tottenham show Stach does have the quality to influence the game going forward.
His fellow new midfielder, Sean Longstaff, has actually surprised with his eye for a pass and willingness to get forward, so perhaps Stach can take a leaf out of his book. Farke should work with the midfielder to get him into more advanced positions on the pitch.
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