Leeds United's task to stay in the Premier League became all the more real following the publication of the fixtures for the new season. The path to safety is now laid out for manager Daniel Farke and his squad, with it all getting under way on Monday August 18 at Elland Road when Everton come to town for the televised game.
The match starts a difficult opening for Leeds who have to play Arsenal away and Newcastle United at home in the following two games. The whole campaign is littered with difficult challenges and matches to excite, none less so than a trip to the Premier League champions.
Leeds play Liverpool twice in December, with the first league meeting at Elland Road on December 6. The two then meet again over the Christmas period, with the reverse fixture at Anfield scheduled for December 30. While he may feature at Elland Road, Liverpool will have to play without the 2024/25 Premier League player of the season and top scorer Mo Salah when they host the Whites.
Salah's absence is due to his participation in the Africa Cup of Nations, which once again clashes with the Premier League season. The attacker is captain of Egypt, who have safely qualified for the tournament, which will be hosted by Morocco. Egypt are among the favourites to win the tournament and there is a chance Liverpool will be without their star man for at least seven games.
Regardless of how far Egypt go, Salah will definitely not play at Anfield against Leeds, with Egypt facing Zimbabwe on December 22, South Africa on [Boxing](https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/boxing/) Day and then taking on Angola on December 29 to complete their group games, ruling the superstar out of the Leeds clash.