Leeds United Eye Crucial Clash Against QPR Before International Break
Leeds United have one final fixture before the March international break disrupts the Championship’s automatic promotion battle—a trip to face QPR on Saturday.
After a brief setback that saw them collect just one point from matches against West Brom and Portsmouth, Daniel Farke’s side bounced back at Elland Road with a composed 2-0 victory over Millwall. An own goal and a stunning strike from Ao Tanaka secured Leeds’ 23rd league win of the campaign, pushing them two points ahead of Sheffield United and four clear of Burnley with nine games remaining.
Their upcoming challenge takes them to Loftus Road, a venue that carries painful memories. Last season, Leeds suffered a crushing 4-0 defeat to QPR in the same fixture, a result that effectively ended their automatic promotion hopes and paved the way for Ipswich Town and Leicester City to claim the top two spots.
Sam Parkin Predicts Leeds’ Points Return from Next Three Matches
Football League veteran Sam Parkin shared his thoughts on Leeds’ next three fixtures while speaking on Benjamin Bloom’s podcast. He expects Farke’s men to perform significantly better than they did in last season’s heavy defeat at Loftus Road, particularly with games against struggling Swansea and Luton also on the horizon.
Parkin predicts that Leeds will collect at least seven points from their next three outings and believes even a draw against QPR wouldn’t be a major setback.
“That 4-0 loss to QPR last season will still be fresh in the memory—it was the night their automatic promotion hopes started to unravel,” Parkin said. “But QPR were at a nine that night, while Leeds were at a five. I don’t see that happening again, especially after the Portsmouth defeat. Farke will demand a response, and I expect them to take a minimum of seven points from these next three games.”
Why Leeds Can Be Confident in the Promotion Race
With nine matches left, Leeds still have the potential to accumulate a total of 106 points if they win all remaining fixtures. Encouragingly, the level of competition they face appears manageable—only two of their remaining opponents are currently in the top half of the table, and none are in the top six.
If Leeds replicate their results from the reverse fixtures against these nine sides, they would secure 23 more points, bringing them to a total of 102. Meanwhile, promotion rivals Burnley and Sheffield United are set to face each other, ensuring at least one of them will drop points.
With a favorable schedule and momentum swinging back in their favor, Leeds can feel optimistic about their chances of securing automatic promotion to the Premier League.
