Mark Jackson’s Under 23s side play their first match of the 2021/22 season on Monday evening, when they travel to face Paddy McCarthy's Crystal Palace (19:00).

The Whites head to Selhurst Park to take on Palace, having been promoted alongside one another from Premier League 2 Division Two in the 2020/21 campaign.

A strong season for both teams saw Jackson’s side win the division with a superb total of 56 points from 24 matches. The Eagles finished up in third, then went on to win the play-offs and secure promotion to the top division.

The league table consists of 14 teams for this year, with everyone playing each other home and away over the course of the campaign. 

During pre-season, Leeds United’s Under-23s were challenged with tough fixtures against Guiseley AFC, Fleetwood Town, Manchester City and Ajax. Those warm-up fixtures helped to prepare for Monday night’s big kick-off.

Managed for by former Leeds player Shaun Derry last season, Palace got the better of United on home turf with a 2-0 victory, courtesy of goals from Jesurun Rak-Sakyi and Sion Spence.  

It’s possible that neither goal-scorer from that day will feature on Monday night, with the Rak-Sakyi making his first team Premier League debut at the weekend, and the latter being out on loan at Bristol Rovers. 

At Thorp Arch, the points also went to the home side, with Leeds running out 4-1 winners on that occasion. Joe Gelhardt scored twice in the match, with Cody Drameh and Max Dean also hitting the back of the net. 

The match will also see the return of fans allowed to the Premier League 2 Division One fixtures, with tickets priced at Adults (aged 21-65) £5, Concession £1, Under-21s £1 and Seniors £1. To purchase, please CLICK HERE. 

What has Mark Jackson said?

“We played against Palace last year, so it is the two teams who have gone up. We had two challenging games against them last year so I expect the same again. What we’ll try to do is focus on ourselves, we obviously look at the opponents but ultimately it is about how we prepare, and having our players ready to play the way we want to play. We want to put our style on the opposition, we all know what that style is and we want to continue with that high intensity.”

League Position last season:

Palace: 3rd

Leeds: 1st

Top scorer last season: 

Palace: Sion Spence (7)

Leeds: Sam Greenwood (12)

How to watch:

Kick-off is at 19:00. The match will be streamed on LUTV and there will be live updates right here on our blog, throughout. 

Who else do we face this season? 

Team facing: Arsenal U23s

League position last year: 10th

Top-scorer last year: Folarin Balogun 

Manager: Per Mertesacker 

Home ground: Meadow Park

Date of fixtures: Home- 29th October 2021 Away- 29th April 2022

Arsenal manager is ex defender Per Mertesacker, who made over 150 appearances in the Premier League for the Gunners. 

Team facing: Blackburn Rovers U23s

League position last year: 4th

Top-scorer last year: Connor McBride

Manager: Damien Johnson

Home ground: The County Ground (Lancashire FA)

Date of fixtures: Home- 24th September 2021 Away- 24th January 2022

Connor McBride scored against Leeds United’s first team during pre-season, netting a free-kick in the 1-1 draw at Ewood Park. If he remains involved with the Under-23s, he is certainly a player to watch for the United defence. 

Team facing: Brighton & Hove Albion U23s

League position last year: 9th

Top-scorer last year: Danny Cashman

Manager: Andrew Crofts

Home ground: The American Express Community Stadium

Date of fixtures: Home- 25th October 2021 Away- 18th February 2022

Danny Cashman has now left the Seagulls and is currently on loan at Rochdale, so Brighton will be looking to find someone to replace his goals this season.  

Team facing: Chelsea U23s

League position last year: 2nd

Top-scorer last year: Theirno Ballo 

Manager: Andy Myers

Home ground: Kingsmeadow Stadium

Date of fixtures: Home- 19th November 2021 Away- 18th March 2022

Whites midfielder Lewis Bate could line up against his former side, after leaving the Blues this summer to join Leeds United. 

Team facing: Crystal Palace U23s

League position last year: Promotion 

Top-scorer last year: Sion Spence

Manager: Paddy McCarthy

Home ground: Selhurst Park

Date of fixtures: Home- 4th April 2022 Away- 16th August 2021 

Crystal Palace Manager is ex-Leeds midfielder Shaun Derry. The 43-year-old made over 70 appearances for the Whites and appeared for Leeds in the 2006 Championship Playoff Final against Watford. 

Team facing: Derby County U23s

League position last year: 6th

Top-scorer last year: Cameron Cresswell 

Manager: Darren Wassall

Home ground: Loughborough University

Date of fixtures: Home- 17^th January 2022 Away- 27th August 2021 

The Rams had the least number of draws in the division last season, showing that their matches are likely to be entertaining with both teams going for the three points. 

Team facing: Everton U23s

League position last year: 5th

Top-scorer last year: Nathan Broadhead

Manager: David Unsworth

Home ground: Pure Stadium Southport 

Date of fixtures: Home- 20th December 2021 Away- 18th October 2021

David Unsworth is Everton U23s manager. He made over 350 appearances for the club and was part of Joe Royle's team who won the 1995 FA Cup.

Team facing: Leicester City U23s

League position last year: 12th

Top-scorer last year: Jacob Wakeling 

Manager: Steve Beaglehole 

Home ground: King Power Stadium

Date of fixtures: Home- 6th December 2021 Away- 1st October 2021

The Foxes finished in the relegation places last season, but were reprieved of going down a division because of a league restructure. They will now be looking to improve on their position this season. 

Team facing: Liverpool U23s

League position last year: 7th

Top-scorer last year: Jake Cain

Manager: Barry Lewtas

Home ground: Liverpool Academy

Date of fixtures: Home- 7th February 2022  Away- 19th September 2021

The Reds scored 48 goals last season, meaning they averaged an impressive two goals a game. 

Team facing: Manchester City U23s

League position last year: Winners

Top-scorer last year: Liam Delap

Manager: Brian Barry-Murphy

Home ground: Academy Stadium

Date of fixtures: Home- 25th April 2022 Away- 27th November 2021

Last season Manchester City won the title by 14 points, as main man Liam Delap scored 24 goals. They also went the entire season unbeaten at home. 

Team facing: Manchester United U23s

League position last year: 8th

Top-scorer last year: Shola Shoretire & Joe Hugill 

Manager: Neil Wood

Home ground: Leigh Sports Village

Date of fixtures: Home- 14th March 2022 Away- 5th November 2021

Last season’s joint top goalscorer Shola Shoretire became Manchester United's youngest player to make an appearance in a European competition, when he came on as a late substitute against Real Sociedad in the Europa League. 

Team facing: Tottenham Hotspur U23s

League position last year: 3rd

Top-scorer last year: Dane Scarlett

Manager: Wayne Burnett

Home ground: Hotspur Way

Date of fixtures: Home- 23rd August 2021 Away- 28th February 2022

Spurs star man Dane Scarlett has been heavily involved in Nuno Espirito Santo’s first team set up this pre-season. He scored his first senior goal this summer in a friendly with Leyton Orient. 

Team facing: West Ham United U23s

League position last year: 11th

Top-scorer last year: Ademipo Ibrahim

Manager: Dmitri Halajko

Home ground: Rush Green Stadium

Date of fixtures: Home- 11th September 2021 Away- 10th January 2022

The Hammers claimed four points in their last two matches of the 2020/21 campaign with a win and a draw, both against Arsenal. Those points proved vital as it kept them out of the relegation places.