Leeds enter 2025 top of the Championship and face play-off hopefuls Blackburn at Elland Road on New Year’s Day.
Despite losing a number of key players over the summer, expectations were still high for Daniel Farke’s side and they have come into their own over the past six weeks.
Leeds have won five of their previous six games and lost just one of their last ten. However, that defeat came against upcoming opponents at the end of November.
They went top of the division thanks to Brenden Aaronson’s second-half winner at Derby on Sunday night after Sheffield United were up against West Brom earlier in the day.
Blackburn enter Wednesday’s competition in indifferent form but have enjoyed a stellar season so far. John Eustace is once again waving his magic wand at Ewood Park with Rovers currently fifth in the table and in the play-off positions.
The Priority is typically tight, mind, and an extension of Blackburn’s unproductive run in the new year could see Eustace’s side slide towards mid-table. Sheffield Wednesday are just five points behind in 11th place.
Here 90 minutes guide for this New Year’s championship match.
Leeds vs Blackburn H2H record (last five games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Leeds |
Blackburn |
|---|---|
|
Derby 0-1 Leeds – 29.12.24 |
Blackburn 0-1 Hull – 29.12.24 |
|
Stoke 0-2 Leeds – 26.12.24 |
Blackburn 2-2 Sunderland – 26.12.24 |
|
Leeds 4-0 Oxford Utd – 21.12.24 |
Millwall 1-0 Blackburn – 21.12.24 |
|
Preston 1-1 Leeds – 14.12.24 |
Blackburn 2-0 Luton – 14.12.24 |
|
Leeds 3-1 Middlesbrough – 12.10.24 |
Sheffield Wednesday 0-1 Blackburn – 12.10.24 |
|
Earth |
TV channel/live broadcast |
|---|---|
|
Great Britain |
Sky Sports+ |
|
United States |
Paramount+ |
|
Canada |
It was not televised |
The hosts are set to welcome back several injured stars in the new year, but Farke are unlikely to be without a player on Wednesday.
Joe Gelhardt, Junior Firpo and Max Wober are getting closer to their returns, while Ilia Gruev could be out a little longer with a knee injury.
There could be some rotation from Sunday’s win over Derby, with Joel Piroe among those to come off the bench at Pride Park to make Farke’s XI.
Predicted line-up of Leeds vs Blackburn (4-2-3-1): Meslier; Bogle, Rodon, Struijk, Byram; Tanaka, Ampadu; Gnonto, Aaronson, James; Pyro,
Arnor Sigurdsson and Zak Gilsenan will be absent from Blackburn’s attacking quartet at Elland Road due to injury problems, with the pair expected to return at some point in January.
Former Premier League star Todd Cantwell is set to start in the No.10 role, while experienced Andreas Weimann is also in contention.
Lewis Travis misses out with a hamstring problem and Blackburn are also without Scott Wharton, Harry Pickering and Hayden Carter.
Predicted line-up for Blackburn vs Leeds (4-2-3-1): Pears; Brittain, Hyam, Bath, Beck; Baker, Trondstad; Dolan, Cantwell, Hedges; Ohashi.
Blackburn are without a win in three and have the fewest goalscorers in the top flight. Winning at Elland Road is no mean feat, as teams usually have to arrive swaggering in Leeds on their home turf.
Farke’s side will surely smell blood on New Year’s Day given how well they have played over the past month. They are the top goalscorers in the league and have once again been powerful at home, winning their last nine meetings at Elland Road.
This is a tough ask for Rovers, whose winless streak will surely continue into the new year.
Prediction: Leeds 2-0 Blackburn
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