Leeds United's first Premier League campaign for 16 years will get underway next month after the club romped to the Championship title.
Marcelo Bielsa's side were the standout team in the second tier last season season and eased to the title by ten points and will be joined by runners-up West Bromwich Albion and play-off winners Fulham in the Premier League next term.
Leeds United conceded the fewest goals in the division and only Brentford scored more goals than the Whites.
This got us thinking, how could Bielsa's side perform in the top-flight next season? And, where could they finish in the Premier League?
We used Football Manager 2020 to have a bit of fun and try to predict how Leeds United could perform in the 2020/21 Premier League campaign.
Leeds United 2020/21 Premier League season predicted
To set up this simulation, we used popular football management simulation game Football Manager 2020 to simulate two whole seasons into the future from the start of the game (June 2019), to see how Leeds United could perform in the Premier League next season.
At the end of the 2019/20 campaign in our simulation, Leeds United, West Bromwich Albion and Nottingham Forest (Playoffs) were promoted to the Premier League ahead of the 2020/21 season, which seems realistic enough!
The Football Manager database currently contains data on more than 800,000 individuals and 45,000 active clubs, with data sourced from their international on the ground scouting network which numbers roughly 1,000 people, among their ranks are some who are involved in football in professional capacities, including scouts and coaches.
In addition, each annual iteration of Football Manager has built-in algorithms which check for outliers and data discrepancies. Data accuracy is further ensured by input from contributors who are active within the professional game (players, agents etc.) who provide regular feedback.
Here's what happened in our simulation.
Let's take a look at some of Leeds United's most notable performances and results over the 2020/21 campaign in our simulation.
West Ham United 0-2 Leeds United - August 29th 2020
Goals from Pablo Hernandez and Jack Harrison sealed Leeds' first league win in the 2020/21 season against West Ham at the London Stadium, with Bielsa's side also keeping a clean sheet.
Crystal Palace 1-3 Leeds United - October 2nd 2020
A double from Jean-Kevin Augustin and a penalty from Helder Costa sealed a 3-1 win against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park in early October.
Leeds United 3-2 Manchester United - February 5th 2021
Leeds United's best performance and result of the season came against Manchester United in February 2021, with Augustin scoring twice and Helder Costa scoring once within the opening ten minutes of the game!
Bruno Fernandes got two goals back for the Reds in the second-half, but Leeds held on for an impressive win.
Leeds United 1-1 Manchester City - May 8 2021
In one of the final league games of the 2020/21 season, Leeds United managed a very respectable 1-1 draw with Manchester City at Elland Road, with Kevin De Bruyne's goal cancelling out Helder Costa's opener.
Now let's take a look at Bielsa's statistically best lineup during the 2020/21 season.
Bielsa's best lineup looks incredibly familiar to Leeds United fans, apart from Julian Laporte and Kevin N'Doram, who had been signed by the club in our simulation. The club also completed the signing of Augustin after the 2019/20 season finished, who became the club's main striker in the Premier League.
Augustin was the club's top goal scorer with 13 goals, with Pablo Hernandez and Helder Costa scoring eight goals each.
Bielsa's best performing player was, surprise surprise, club captain Kalvin Phillips. The midfielder made 38 appearances in all competitions for the club in the 2020/21 season, scoring five goals and registering nine assists, earning the club's highest average match rating of 7.10 in the Premier League.
So where did this rather familiar looking Leeds United side finish in the 2020/21 Premier League table during our simulation? let's take a look.
Leeds United achieved an impressive 14th place finish in the 2020/21 PL campaign, finishing with 41 points, 15 points above 18th place Brighton who were relegated.
This was despite the club not conducting any 'big' transfers before the season, with current players like Liam Cooper, Luke Ayling, Kalvin Phillips, Leif Davis, Jamie Shackleton, Helder Costa, Pablo Hernandez and Jean-Kevin Augustin all playing a major role in their impressive campaign.
Interestingly, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace were the other two sides relegated in this simulation, with Nottingham Forest finishing in 17th place.
So there you have it, good news for Leeds United fans. Football Manager 2020 predicts that if United could have a relatively successful 2020/21 campaign, finishing far above the relegation zone, even if their transfer business is modest.
Would you take a 14th place finish in the Premier League next season?
