Leeds United welcome Liverpool to Elland Road this evening with their mood transformed after a statement midweek win, while Arne Slot’s side arrive under pressure to turn around a worrying run of league results. With Leeds hovering just above the relegation zone and Liverpool trying to drag themselves back into the top-four race, the stakes on both sides are clear.
Daniel Farke’s team produced arguably their best performance of the season on Wednesday, beating Chelsea 3–1 at Elland Road. Leeds were the better side across the 90 minutes, creating more and better chances and seeing Jaka Bijol, Ao Tanaka and Dominic Calvert-Lewin all get on the scoresheet. That win snapped a four-game losing streak in the league and eased some of the intense pressure Farke had been under, after a run that had seen his future openly questioned before back-to-back home games against Chelsea and Liverpool.
The table still tells a tense story for the hosts. Leeds sit 17th, two points above the relegation zone, but their home form has kept them afloat: they are unbeaten in 12 of their last 14 matches at Elland Road and have taken 11 of their 14 league points on their own ground this season. That strength at home contrasts sharply with their difficulties on the road and makes tonight’s atmosphere a significant factor once again.
Liverpool, by contrast, travel with their sights still nominally set on the top four but with form that has dipped alarmingly since their title-winning campaign under Slot last season. They are ninth in the table with 22 points from 14 matches, 11 points off leaders Arsenal and just two behind Chelsea in fourth. The deeper concern is the trend: Liverpool have won only two of their last nine league games and are winless in seven of those nine, a run which has prompted Slot to speak openly about inconsistency and the need to “find our level again.”
There are some glimmers of good news for the visitors. Conor Bradley and Joe Gomez have both returned to training and could be available for selection, potentially giving Slot more options in defence and at right-back. At the other end, record signing Alexander Isak recently scored his first Premier League goal for the club, though Slot has admitted that Liverpool are not yet playing to the striker’s strengths. Squad-wise, the core attacking players are fit, but selection calls — particularly around Mohamed Salah, who has been benched more often of late — remain under scrutiny.
Tactically, Leeds under Farke are likely to lean heavily on the energy and confidence generated by that Chelsea result. They have shown a willingness to press high at home, to commit bodies forward and to play at a tempo that unsettles visitors. Their recent results suggest vulnerability at the back, but also that they can create chances against almost anyone when the crowd is behind them.
Liverpool will expect to have more of the ball and to try to control the game territorially, but their recent struggles suggest they cannot rely solely on possession. Slot has spoken about wanting more defensive solidity and better use of their No 9; balancing those aims at a noisy, aggressive Elland Road will be a real test. If they can move the ball quickly through midfield and find Isak and the wide forwards in space, they have the quality to hurt Leeds — but any slackness in transitions could be punished.
The dynamic feels finely poised: a Leeds side strong at home and suddenly buoyant, against a Liverpool team with higher individual quality but a shaky run of form. For Leeds, another big result would create breathing room above the bottom three and further ease the pressure on Farke. For Liverpool, three points are almost essential if they are to seriously re-enter the top-four conversation and calm growing external noise around their inconsistency.
With Elland Road in full voice, and both teams fighting for very different kinds of security, this has all the makings of an intense, high-tempo contest under the lights.
