Leeds United will return to Premier League action on Friday night as they welcome Burnley to Elland Road under the lights in their penultimate home encounter of the campaign.
Following a narrow defeat to Chelsea in the Emirates FA Cup semi-final on Sunday afternoon, Daniel Farke’s side will be setting their sights on back-to-back victories on home soil.
Last time out in the top-flight, United earned a hard-fought point on the south coast when Sean Longstaff’s late volley saw the spoils shared with AFC Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.
The hosts took the lead through Eli Junior Kroupi, before Wilfried Gnonto’s low drilled ball was turned into the back of the net by opposing defender James Hill.
Brazilian forward Rayan restored the Cherries’ advantage in the closing stages but that was cancelled out by Longstaff’s strike, extending Leeds’ run to five games unbeaten in the league with just four matches remaining.
Prior to the late drama against Bournemouth, Leeds displayed a dominant performance against Wolverhampton Wanderers at Elland Road with goals from James Justin, Noah Okafor and Dominic Calvert-Lewin securing an important three points for the Whites.
Friday night’s visitors come into the tie in a difficult run of form, currently on a run of nine games without a win in all competitions, though did put in an impressive performance against title-chasing Manchester City last time out, losing 1-0.
Over the decades, Leeds have faced Burnley a total of 67 times, winning 34 of those matches and drawing on thirteen occasions. Memorably in the Premier League in recent years, late goals from Stuart Dallas and Daniel James fired Leeds to a 3-1 triumph four years ago.
Action from Elland Road gets underway from 8pm and you can follow it across leedsunited.com, as well as on LUTV.
Last time at Elland Road:
Team News:
Following Sunday’s narrow defeat at Wembley, Farke confirmed injured left-back Gabriel Gudmundsson faces a spell on the sidelines with a hamstring injury. There are also question marks over Okafor and Jaka Bijol but the boss is hopeful to have the duo available.
How to follow:
Monthly audio subscribers around the world can listen to every minute of Friday’s fixture LIVE on LUTV. Bryn Law will be joined by Tony Dorigo on commentary. Pre-match build up begins at 7:30pm with Simon Grayson and Jermaine Beckford in the studio! The match has also been selected for television coverage live in the UK on Sky Sports.
The view from inside the camp:
Speaking exclusively to Premier League Productions, Ethan Ampadu said: “We know that they are going to be difficult team. They have shown that in games and no matter what has happened, they turn up to try and get a result, and to try and win.
“Friday night under lights at Elland Road is always a special atmosphere for us to play in. We want the fans to be themselves and be behind us as they always are. Be loud, make it a hostile place that teams do not want to come to and we are going to try and do our best to put that performance on the pitch.”
Read the full interview HERE.
All Green, All Leeds:
Leeds United’s fixture against Burnley on Friday 1st May will be a dedicated Green Matchday, highlighting our recently launched All Green, All Leeds sustainability programme.
All Green, All Leeds was launched at the beginning of March, and it sets the direction for the club’s environmental sustainability efforts, built around two strategic pillars: adapting our business and engaging and inspiring fans.
This Green Matchday will help to bring the campaign to life, with activity across the stadium and club channels designed to showcase various steps the club is taking, raise awareness of the programme and encourage supporters to play their part. Find out more HERE.
Important supporter information:
Discriminatory language or chanting, including tragedy chanting, is not acceptable, and you could be breaking the law. The club condemns this behaviour and has a zero-tolerance policy towards discrimination abuse of all kinds.
To report an incident, text LEEDS along with any relevant information including ticket details, your name and description of an incident to 60006. You will then receive an automated response which means that your report has been logged and will then be looked into.
Tough measures and sanctions are in place across all English football leagues to tackle dangerous and illegal behaviours within football grounds, and this involves but is not limited to, discriminatory behaviour, tragedy chanting, fans entering the pitch, the use of pyros and throwing objects. A list of prohibited items can be found HERE.
More matchday information can be found HERE.
What has Daniel Farke said ahead of the match?
League Position:
Leeds: 15th
Burnley: 19th
Top Scorer:
Leeds: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (12)
Burnley: Zian Flemming (9)
Officials:
Referee: Thomas Bramall
Assistant referees: Constantine Hatzidakis & Craig Taylor
Fourth Official: Adam Herczeg
Video Assistant Referee: Tim Wood
Additional Video Assistant Referee: Jarred Gillett
