Three reasons Leeds United will definitely be promoted

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Leeds United have started the 2018-19 campaign in blistering form, raising optimism of a long-awaited return to the Premier League.

Since their shock relegation in 2004, Leeds have endured a turbulent time outside of the top-flight and even spent time in League One in their long battle to eventually earn a return to the big time – and 2019 looks set to be their year.

While there is plenty of football to be played, Leeds have caught the eye in the early weeks of the campaign and everything looks to be falling into place. Here, we have identified three reasons why Leeds will definitely be promoted.

Marcelo Bielsa

Widely regarded to be one of the best coaches in world football, Marcelo Bielsa’s arrival at Elland Road in the summer sent shockwaves across the road – especially given the history of both the Argentine boss and his predecessors with the Peacocks.

However, fears of a shambolic campaign under Bielsa like his short stint with Lille in 2017 have been quickly erased by a blistering start to the season which has seen the club breeze past Stoke City and Derby County in the league, as well as overcoming Bolton Wanderers in the Carabao Cup.

What is most impressing about those results is that the victories over Stoke and Derby came against two sides widely tipped to be in the promotion hunt this year. By that evidence, Leeds are the side to beat.

Perfect balance

Leeds have had numerous capable players over the years but, in their absence from the Premier League, have often found it difficult to retain the services of their best performers – but the right balance seems to have been found this season.

Kemaar Roofe and Mateusz Klich have hit the ground running by scoring in each of their two appearances so far, while Patrick Bamford opened his account for the Yorkshire giants in the midweek victory over Bolton.

Goalscoring threat has been shared across the squad, with five different players already scoring in the Championship for Leeds in the opening two games of the season, while Luke Ayling, Liam Cooper and Barry Douglas have helped to craft a strong looking defence.

“If you think that we are favourites to go up, we have only played two games so far. We shouldn’t trust this kind of affirmation because we’ve played only two games.”

– Bielsa cooled talk of promotion ahead of the victory over Bolton.

Long overdue

Now entering the fifteenth season since Leeds’ relegation from the Premier League, it is remarkable that there is a new era of supporters at Elland Road that have never seen their club in the top-flight and numerous fans of rival clubs who will not remember the Peacocks in the Premier League.

For younger supporters, the rivalry with Manchester United is something they are largely unaware of, the years battling in Europe seem like something from the Football Manager universe and there is not even memories of playoff football for many.

Since returning to the Championship in 2010, Leeds have never finished within the top-six and seem to have never clicked properly. Under Bielsa, that has changed and a return to the Premier League is long overdue for a club of Leeds’ stature.