Manager Daniel Farke made eight changes to his starting XI as the Whites suffered a 6-3 defeat to Chelsea in a chaotic Carabao Cup third-round tie at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night.
Leeds took a two-goal lead through Tarik Muharemovic and Brenden Aaronson, only for the Blues to hit back with four goals in 12 minutes.
Leeds United's German head coach Daniel Farke watches the players from the touchline during the English League Cup third round football match between Chelsea and Leeds United at Stamford Bridge, in London on September 9, 2026. (Photo by Adrian Dennis / AFP via Getty Images)placeholder image
Leeds United's German head coach Daniel Farke watches the players from the touchline during the English League Cup third round football match between Chelsea and Leeds United at Stamford Bridge, in London on September 9, 2026. (Photo by Adrian Dennis / AFP via Getty Images) | AFP via Getty Images
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Xavi Alonso made four changes at half-time and three of those, Cole Palmer, Pedro Neto and Morgan Rogers, had a significant impact. Palmer netted a quick-fire brace to level things before Neto put the hosts in front. Danny Welbeck then added a fourth, with Rogers providing assists for all four goals.
Farke responded with a quadruple substitution of his own, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin pulled one back to give Leeds hope. However, goals from Valentin Barco and Welbeck in the final 10 minutes put the game beyond the Whites.
Leeds United make eight changes ahead of Newcastle United clash
Muharemovic, Ethan Ampadu and James Justin were the only players to keep their place from the side that drew 1-1 away to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League three days earlier.
Calvert-Lewin, Anton Stach, Noah Okafor, Ao Tanaka, and Gabriel Gudmundsson were introduced during the second half, while James Trafford, Nico Elvedi and Jayden Bogle remained on the bench.
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By contrast, Newcastle boss Matthias Jaissle only made three changes for their third-round win away to Millwall on Tuesday evening as Jacob Murphy, Jacob Ramsey and Fabian Schar came in for Anthony Elanga, Lewis Miley and Malick Thiaw.
Leeds and the Magpies have made an unbeaten start to the new Premier League season with a win and two draws. Farke’s side won 1-0 at Nottingham Forest on the opening day and have followed that up with consecutive 1-1 draws against Brentford and Brighton.
The Magpies, meanwhile, won 2-0 at Tottenham Hotspur in between their home draws against Liverpool and AFC Bournemouth. The previous two meetings between the two sides at Elland Road have ended in draws.