PURPLE PATCH: Leeds United will be making their first Premier League appearance at home in 16 years but have a fantastic record at Elland Road in recent times and so make for interesting reading in this week’s Purple Patch.
How Bielsa’s team have made Elland Road a fortress
As Leeds get ready to host Fulham in their first home game back in the Premier League since 2004, at BETDAQ we’ve looked back on an impressive home record which was the key for their upturn in form at the back end of last season.
Having drawn 1-1 with Brentford in mid-February, Leeds looked in danger of missing out on automatic promotion for a second consecutive season. They were six points behind West Brom at the top of the table and equal with Fulham on 56 points in third, having only won one of their last seven games in the Championship.
However, things changed dramatically, particularly at home, with the Whites going on an incredible run which saw them win the title by an impressive 10 points.
Since losing to Wigan 1-0 at Elland Road on 1st February, Marcelo Bielsa’s side played eight times on their home patch and remained unbeaten there for the remainder of the season.
Bristol City, Reading, Huddersfield, Fulham, Stoke, Barnsley and Charlton were all beaten, with only Luton managing a 1-1 draw.
In those seven wins, they beat each team to nil, scoring 18 goals in the process and only conceding one in the aforementioned Luton draw.
It was very much a team effort with 12 different players finding the back of the net, with Patrick Bamford, who scored in Leeds’ opening day defeat to Liverpool this season, the leading scorer with three goals.
The first objective this term will be for Leeds to avoid relegation and if they can maintain last season’s home form, Bielsa will be very hopeful of playing Premier League football next year.
