With Leeds United close to wrapping up their pre-season preparations, the Whites are gearing up for a likely season-long fight for Premier League survival.
Leeds play their final pre-season game against AC Milan on Saturday, 9th August, and will then have a nine-day break before their Premier League opener against Everton.
The Whites are unbeaten so far in their fixtures, with draws against Manchester United and Villarreal, either side of two wins against SC Verl and SC Paderborn.
Against both their toughest opposition, Daniel Farke’s side have looked compact and organised when defending and appear to have their defensive signings showing their class already.
The Leeds boss will be boosted further by recent pre-season results and the struggles of other Premier League rivals against the same opposition.
Arsenal falter in pre-season against unchanged Villarreal
While Leeds have enjoyed a decent pre-season so far, the same can’t be said of some of their upcoming opponents.
Arsenal faltered against Villarreal at the Emirates Stadium by falling to a 3-2 defeat, which highlighted a number of frailties within the defensive setup.
The Gunners’ defence failed to react to a rebounded shot on two separate occasions, allowing both Nicolas Pepe and Etta Eyong to score, before Arnaut Danjuma scored on the counterattack from an Arsenal set piece.
Joel Piroe scored from a similar defensive mistake against Villarreal and will grow in confidence watching the defensive frailty shown by Mikel Arteta’s side, as Leeds travel to North London for their second match of the season.
A weakness in defending counterattacks will also suit the Whites, who possess incredible pace in transition from the likes of Dan James and Wilfried Gnonto, and could exploit a side that will likely play on the front foot.
Strong defensive resilience gives Leeds United confidence against Champions League opposition
Leeds showcased incredible defensive work in their draw with Villarreal and take confidence knowing they can stifle a Champions League attack.
Jaka Bijol and Pascal Struijk were on hand to deny Yeremy Pino, and forward Gerard Moreno was limited to half opportunities.
The Whites’ defensive work went unrewarded as a clean sheet was denied by a bundled rebound after a fabulous save from goalkeeper Illan Meslier.
Farke’s side were not outclassed by their Spanish opponents and could have won the game had Harry Gray’s header not smacked the crossbar, but they will take strong confidence knowing Arsenal could only limp to a 3-2 defeat.
Both Leeds’ strengths and the Gunners’ weaknesses on show will give the fans and the players confidence that they can exploit a big six side who appear unsure of their favoured system and personnel before the start of the Premier League season.