Leeds United have drawn their opening two Championship matches of 2025 and will hope to get back to winning ways when they welcome in Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Wednesday.
Daniel Farke’s side finished the last round of fixtures top of the table, but they were frustrated with their 3-3 draw at Hull City which they led 3-1 with 80 minutes played.
Three days earlier they drew 1-1 with Blackburn Rovers at Elland Road, conceding the equalising goal in the 90th minute.
However, Leeds are in a strong position and have a 16-point advantage over Wednesday, who are doing their best to stay in the play-off race.
The Owls have moved on from last season’s relegation battle, although they drew 2-2 at home to Millwall in their last Championship encounter.
Leeds win to nil - Evens
Leeds have absorbed a couple of early blows in 2025, but they can move on from a pair of disappointing draws by defeating Wednesday in a fairly comfortable fashion.
Farke’s side could not have many complaints after the 1-1 draw at home to Blackburn on New Year’s Day was an evenly-balanced contest.
However, they had won their previous nine home league games, conceding only two goals in the process.
The Whites have emerged from a busy period with a largely healthy squad and will feel confident of lasting the pace in the 46-game marathon.
Wednesday make the short trip to West Yorkshire in an equally upbeat frame of mind, having made substantial progress over the last 12 months.
They finished the last round of fixtures in tenth place - only four points outside the play-offs - and have the luxury of looking up instead of last season’s experience of scrapping for second tier survival.
Over the longer-term the Owls' progress may depend on retaining impressive manager Danny Rohl, whose work has attracted the attention of bigger clubs.
Rohl has taken the club a long way on a reasonably modest budget, but he wants to oversee further improvement and will probably be focused on the defensive aspect, because his team have kept only one clean sheet in their last 10 matches.
Tightening up will be the part of the plan against Leeds, but Wednesday may struggle to gain much traction in attack and could fail to get on the scoresheet.
Brenden Aaronson to score anytime - 12/5
Leeds do not possess a prolific goalscorer, but their xG (52.03) and goal tally (48) are the highest in the division because they carry multiple threats which are difficult to pin down.
In recent times Brenden Aaronson has played as well as anyone in Farke’s frontline and he could be the man to open up Wednesday’s suspect rearguard.
The 24-year-old has an xG of 7.65 - the highest of any Leeds player - and is top of his team's shot statistics with 58.
He has netted in two of his last three Championship home games and looks a solid 12/5 shot to add to his seasonal seven-goal tally.
Yan Valery to be carded - 10/3
The visitors will have a tough task in trying to stem the tide of Leeds attacks and their full-backs - Yan Valery and Max Lowe - could be especially stretched,
Valery has been booked on three of the Owls' last seven Championship road trips and he may well increase his caution count here.
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Leeds United - 1/3
Draw - 4/1
Sheffield Wednesday - 7/1
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.