Leeds United rival manager demands 'reaction' from his team ahead of Elland Road visit after derby humbling

Leeds United will look to keep their unbeaten streak ticking over when they take on Watford on Tuesday. Daniel Farke’s side, now third in the Championship table, beat promotion rivals Sheffield United at Elland Road to go just three points behind league leaders Sunderland.

The Whites have not lost a game since a 1-0 defeat to Burnley in September and will be hoping to keep this positive streak alive as they firmly eye an automatic promotion spot at the end of the season. Watford will make the trip to West Yorkshire for Tuesday’s evening clash and they will arrive seeking a response to their disappointing 3-0 defeat at the weekend.

The Hornets were toppled by Luton Town after goals from Jordan Clark, Carlton Morris and Jacob Brown handed the recently relegated Hatters their first win in four games. Watford manager Tom Cleverley has taken responsibility for the defeat but has urged his side to dig deeper with their performances moving forward.

Reflecting on the Luton defeat, the 35-year-old said: “We were well beaten, it's very, very disappointing. That has to land on my shoulders first and foremost, and it will. We didn’t commit to who we are at all. You know you have to compete here, you have to win battles. We didn’t do that well enough. But then you have to commit.

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“Are we a second balls, territory football team? No, I feel like we’re a football team who likes to play through the lines and get our creative players on the ball, and get it wide and in the box, and I don’t think we were committed to that at all today.

“We showed fear on the ball and they fully committed to the way they wanted to play with territory and duels. We didn’t stand up to that challenge well enough either.”

Cleverley admitted there will be an ‘inquest into why the performance was so poor’ but has highlighted that facing Leeds shortly after their defeat is one of the positives to take away. The tight turnaround between the fixtures could allow Watford to immediately respond to their disappointing defeat as they too hope they can climb the table.

The Hornets are down in eighth as things stand but only three points separate them and Leeds. With the whole second half of the Championship season still to play, the top six will easily change numerous times between now and the end of the campaign. The Yorkshire Evening Post has launched a new Leeds United WhatsApp Channel to bring the latest news, analysis and team & injury updates direct to your phone. Simply click this link to join our YEP - Leeds United channel.

“If there are any positives from today it's that we play again in three days,” Cleverley continued. “One thing we have done is put things right. We have to stop throwing in these disappointing performances but we have reacted to them during the season so far. There has to be a reaction. It’s a big test and I’m hoping the big test gets the best out of us.”