Leeds United will play Leicester City at Elland Road after a six-day gap between games following five matches over 15 days in February.
Leeds United’s players will have release valves switched on in the coming days as Daniel Farke tries to lessen the strain of five matches in 15 days on their young legs. With Leicester City nearing the end of a comparably lengthy six-day break between fixtures, the manager hopes to restore some zip to his players after a strenuous spell.
The Whites had to travel more than 2,000 miles over 15 days between Bristol City and Plymouth Argyle in the Championship, albeit they did use planes for some of their journey. The starting lineup that has dominated Farke’s 2024 selections has an average age of 23, which must be considered, according to the German.
“It’s a bit crazy,” Farke added. “In almost every other country or league, a short week is defined as having only six or five days between games.
“This league, the Championship, is relentless. I mentioned that the Premier League is widely regarded as the best league in the world, but the Championship is based on consistency. This is what we’re showing right now.”
Training for those who have been fully involved over the last two weeks is likely to ease down on Sunday and Monday before the sluggish build-up to Leicester’s visit on Friday night.
“We need to calm the load a bit down right now, not just physically, but also mentally because, first of all, there was lots of travelling,” Farke remarked. “I’m not sure whether any other team in Western Europe has traveled more miles in the last few weeks than we have.
“Unbelievable, but we can’t change it; it is what it is, and we must remember that we have a fairly young team, one of the youngest starting lineups in the entire Championship, and certainly the youngest starting lineup in the top three positions in the table.”
“For them, there is a lot of pressure, mental pressure, and when you demonstrate such consistency and maturity, it’s also vital to find periods when you can relax some of the pressure and mental load because our demands are great.
“We always want them to perform on the highest level and it’s important right now, especially after this week with two massive away wins, we need to calm the load a bit down in the next couple of days to be then ready, and also full of energy, for the upcoming games and also obviously for next week.”
