Leeds United are in the driving seat for promotion back to the Premier League now, but they are going to have to overcome multiple early kick-offs in front of the Sky Sports camera to get there.
Any neutral is pointing to Leeds as the standout favourites to get back to the Premier League this season, five points clear of third going into this weekend.
However, plenty of Leeds fans are somewhat nervy about their prospects as Burnley look to close the gap to two points temporarily today.
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Sky Sports confirm early-April TV selections โ Leeds on Sky twice
(Photo by MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Sky Sports Leeds continues heading into April, with the EFL confirming the first wave of televised fixtures in the Championship, in which Leeds are selected twice.
First, their trip to Luton Town, already a 12:30pm kick-off, has now been nominated for Sky Sports Football covered โ Whites fans will also be keeping track for a favour from Frank Lampard, as his Coventry City side host Burnley at the same time.
Then, the following Tuesday night trip up to Middlesbrough has also been moved from 7:45pm to an 8pm slot, again on Sky Sports Football.
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More early kick-offs loom for Leeds, and they have a poor record in them
(Photo by George Wood/Getty Images)
Thereโs plenty of superstition in football, and one bad omen for Leeds and their fans is a belief that they do poorly in early kick-offs.
LUFCDATA shared a damning statistic following Leedsโ draw with West Brom last time out (Saturday early kick-off), revealing that the Whites have won just two of their last 12 played at 1:30pm or earlier:
Leeds have won just 2 of our last 12 Championship matches that kicked off at 1:30pm GMT or earlier.
๐ Huddersfield (A) 1-1
๐ด Blackburn (H) 0-1
๐ด Southampton (H) 1-2
๐ Portsmouth (H) 3-3
๐ West Brom (A) 0-0
๐ด Burnley (H) 0-1
๐ Bristol City (A) 0-0
๐ด Blackburn (A) 0-1
๐ขโฆ
โ LUFCDATA (@LUFCDATA) March 2, 2025
Leeds already have four remaining early kick-offs this season โ Portsmouth (A), QPR (A), Luton Town (A), and Plymouth Argyle (A) โ which could become more when the final slot of games in April are announced for television.
Whether there is any evidence to back up why Leeds seem to falter in this kick-off slot, or if itโs just a baffling coincidence is hard to say, but it definitely isnโt ideal for Farke and his squad, nor the loyal travelling fans trekking across the country for the earliest possible kick-off time.