Leeds United are a club well aware of the pressure of expectation and also of the inescapable fact that with each passing season in the Championship it proves increasingly difficult to win promotion back to the Premier League. Last season presented the Whites with a great opportunity to make an immediate return to the top flight, but it was one passed up following a defeat at Wembley Stadium.
For all the frustration and disappointment at significant summer departures, there was still a sense as the transfer window closed that Daniel Farke had been given a squad that was capable of winning promotion this season. Now, 18 games in and as December comes around Leeds find themselves in a very familiar position to last season.
Defeat at Blackburn Rovers was the third time this season the Whites have been left empty handed, with 10 wins and five draws giving them an accumulative 35 points from 18 games. It is the exact same return as a year ago, with [Leeds](https://www.leeds-live.co.uk/sport/leeds-united/) beginning December third in the table once again.
The good news is this season the Championship does not have a Leicester City and Ipswich Town racing away at the top of the table. Instead of an eight-point deficit to the top spot, Leeds are just three points behind leaders Sheffield United and one behind second-placed Burnley, with a better goal difference than both.
The 11 points that separated the top five a year ago is eight points, and with Middlesbrough in fifth looking at closing the gap further. What it leaves us with is a congested table, one in which every point really does that feel little bit more important.
Chasing down the top two may have seemed like a tough challenge for [Leeds](https://www.leeds-live.co.uk/all-about/leeds-united-fc) last season, and it was one in which they agonisingly fell just short in, but coming out on top in what could well be a four or five-way battle for two automatic promotion places may yet prove to be an even tougher test. They key for Leeds is they make sure this time they meet the challenge.
**Championship table 2023/24 after 18 games**
1: Leicester 43 points
2: Ipswich 42 points
3: Leeds United 35 points
4: Southampton 34 points
5: West Brom 32 points
**Championship table 2023/24 after 18 games**
1: Sheffield United 38 points
2: Burnley 36 points
3: Leeds United 35 points
4: Sunderland 33 points
5: Middlesbrough 30 points