Leeds United boss Farke annoyed by fixture list 'in favour' of Man Utd ahead of Elland Road clash

Manchester United played on Tuesday night at home to Wolves in a 1-1 draw, 48 hours before Leeds travelled to Anfield and put in a huge shift against the ball to secure a point and a clean sheet against champions Liverpool. The Whites are currently without Sean Longstaff, Daniel James and Joe Rodon through injury, but a second half yellow card at Anfield has also ruled Ethan Ampadu out. Sebastiaan Bornauw and Ilia Gruev came into the side on Thursday night and suffered with cramp in the latter stages, but Farke is hopeful that both will be able to recover in time for Sunday.

The manager made it clear, however, that the fixture list has irked him at the outset of 2026. "Of course, we had to invest a lot today," he said. "I hope they can recover quickly and we'll see probably some late decisions for Sunday, when we have the earliest possible kick-off, straight after breakfast more or less, whyever this is after a late evening kick-off. today. So Man United since two days already on the sofa, whatever. We will find solutions for this fixture and at Elland Road, even if the legs will be a bit tight, we also have a chance, and we'll go for it again on Sunday."

Farke made four changes to his team for the trip to Anfield, giving Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Noah Okafor and Jayden Bogle a much needed break. All three came on late in the second half but will be relatively well rested for Sunday. That said, Farke believes they will still need Elland Road to play a part in the fixture. The atmosphere in the old ground this season has been incredible and reached its feverish best in the win over Chelsea and the home draw with Liverpool. If there is another level to go to then Sunday's meeting with Manchester United is the only fixture likely to make it a reality.

"We know how much it means to our supporters this game," said Farke. "I'm really a bit annoyed with the fixture list and an evening kick-off today and then the earliest possible on Sunday, especially once you had two away games already with lots of traveling. But again, it is what it is, we have to accept this, lots of adversity against us. Many, many key players out, the fixture list more or less in favour of Man Utd, but we still have Elland Road. We know when this place is rocking like no other, and everyone is on it, even under these circumstances, will have a chance."

The turnaround and the need for recovery will give Farke less time than he would like to prepare his men tactically but they do roll into the game with a six-game unbeaten run and the confidence gained from excellent performances against all manner of opposition.

"We take, of course, the momentum and the confidence and the mood out of the last weeks into this game," said Farke. "But it's also important right now that hopefully no one else gets ill or injured. So hopefully no other key player will be out. We have to recover smart and quick. There's not much time on the training pitch. The lads have to deliver more or less without really doing something on the training pitch, just for showing some scenes. So it will be tricky, but we're also used to it a little bit from the Championship season, season, and for that, hopefully we will find some good solutions."