It's been a brilliant few weeks for Leeds United with three wins from their last three games, including a thumping 4-1 win over West Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Town and an impressive 1-0 away win over league leaders Leicester City.
These results ensured that Daniel Farke's side went into the international break firmly in contention for an automatic promotion place come the season's end. However, with another all-Yorkshire game to come this weekend, the Peacocks will have to keep up the impressive work.
Here is a look ahead to Leeds' next six fixtures, which includes that derby with Rotherham United, as Football FanCast predicts how they'll fare in the coming weeks…
25th November
Championship
Rotherham United
A
29th November
Championship
Swansea City
H
2nd December
Championship
Middlesbrough
H
9th December
Championship
Blackburn Rovers
A
12th December
Championship
Sunderland
A
16th December
Championship
Coventry City
H
Rotherham United vs Leeds United
25th November, Championship, New York Stadium
After a lengthy international break, Leeds United are once again back in action as they travel to Championship strugglers Rotherham United on Saturday, 25th November.
The Millers have had a rough start to their campaign this season and currently sit all the way down in 22nd, with just two wins coming from their opening 16 games. In contrast, the Whites sit up in third with nine wins to their name.
With this in mind, Leeds will be going into the encounter as overwhelming favourites, and with Rotherham possessing the joint-worst defensive record in the league – alongside Norwich City – the likes of Joel Piroe and Willy Gnonto will be licking their lips.
We can't see anything other than a comfortable win for the visitors in this one.
Prediction: Rotherham 1 – 4 Leeds United
Leeds United v Swansea City
29th November, Championship, Elland Road
The West Yorkshire side welcome Swansea City in their final fixture of November.
Michael Duff's team fell to a 3-2 defeat away to Ipswich Town in their final game before the international break and will be without Liam Cullen after he received a straight red in the 69th minute.
Leeds, come the end of November, will be hoping to have bridged the gap between themselves and second-placed Ipswich Town, who are currently eight points ahead.
Farke will certainly want to avoid a playoff campaign, if possible, so they'll need to be winning their home games in order to propel themselves into the top two automatic promotion spots.
Should The Whites hit top gear, it will be a relatively comfortable evening, but anything less than that could see the away side earn a point.
Prediction: Leeds United 2-0 Swansea City
Leeds United vs Middlesbrough
2nd December, Championship, Elland Road
Leeds United's first game in December sees them welcome Middlesbrough to Elland Road in what should be a cracking contest.
At the time of writing, Boro are sat in tenth place in the table but are just two points behind the playoff berth, as is the incredible competitiveness of the Championship.
The Smoggies have won two games fewer than Leeds so far this season – seven – but have lost six to the Whites three, showing just how close this game could be.
The recent history of this fixture slightly favours Leeds as they have won two of the last five clashes while Boro have won just one. However, their last encounter came all the way back in February 2020, so it's difficult to draw any meaningful conclusions from that.
Ultimately, we reckon home advantage and the firepower of Joel Piroe and Wilfried Gnonto will be enough to help Daniel Farke's men get over the line, but it should be a closely fought affair and a great watch for the neutral.
Prediction: Leeds United 2-1 Middlesbrough
Blackburn Rovers vs Leeds United
9th December, Championship, Ewood Park
Leeds United make the trip to East Lancashire on December 9th to take on former Premier League winners Blackburn Rovers.
Granted, those glory days are a long time ago for Rovers, and with how the season has gone so far, it's Leeds that go into this one with the slight edge.
As things stand, the Peacocks find themselves in third place after picking up nine wins from their 16 games, whereas Rovers are down in 12th with seven wins to their name.
While Blackburn have picked up just two wins less than their Yorkshire opponents, they have also lost eight games to their three.
Another thing in Leeds' favour is their goal difference, as the Whites have a positive goal difference of 11, whereas Blackburn's is minus two, suggesting that on a game-by-game basis, Leeds are clearly the better side here.
While we don't think it'll be a thumping, we just don't see how the hosts will keep Leeds' attackers at bay for 90 minutes.
Prediction: Blackburn Rovers 1-3 Leeds United
Sunderland vs Leeds United
12th December, Championship, the Stadium of Light
Back-to-back away games in the north spells an interesting period for the Peacocks in December. For any side searching for promotion, it is their ability to grind results amid constantly changing surroundings with quick turnaround times that will make or break the Premier League hopefuls.
At the Stadium of Light, they face a quickly developing Sunderland side who have found their feet in the Championship under Tony Mowbray. Upon writing this preview, the Black Cats sit in sixth, with eight wins, two draws, and six losses, seeing the former top-flight mainstays just inside the play-off spots.
Although five points below Farke's Whites, they have scored the same number of goals and conceded one more than their opponents, which again shows the competitiveness of the Championship.
For both teams, this provides a litmus test. A win for either side will surely lift their club's spirits in the hope of promotion. However, the artillery of Wilfried Gnonto, Georginio Rutter and co will meet their match in Jack Clarke, the joint-second top scorer in the league.
With this one panning out like a straight shootout, the chances are this one ends a draw, with either side leaving indifferent to their promotion chances.
Prediction: Sunderland 3-3 Leeds United
Leeds United vs Coventry City
16th December, Championship, Elland Road
In their penultimate Championship game before Christmas, Leeds United welcome Coventry City to Elland Road in what could be a bit of a mismatch come the final whistle.
The Sky Blues may have made it to the Championship play-off final last season, but they are seriously struggling this year and currently find themselves down in 20th place, with just 16 points to their name from 16 games.
They have only managed three wins so far this season compared to Leeds' nine and have a goal difference of minus 14, which should be music to the ears of Joel Piroe and Co.
While there is always room for an upset in the Championship, we can't see anything other than a win for the hosts in this one, and a comfortable one at that.
Prediction: Leeds United 3-1 Coventry City
