After their festive fixtures against Liverpool and Aston Villa were postponed, Leeds United return to action on Sunday for the visit of Burnley.
It will be one of the Whites’ biggest games of the season so far considering the position of the two teams heading into the match.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side are 16th with 16 points whilst Burnley are 18th with 11 points as well as three games in hand.
A Leeds win would see them move further away from the grips of the relegation zone but another defeat would be extremely damaging.
While it was hardly an interval from playing that Bielsa could benefit from, the mini-break caused by the two postponements came at probably the best time.
The heavy defeats against Manchester City and Arsenal left supporters fearing the worst ahead of the scheduled visit to Anfield.
Instead of a tough trip to Merseyside, it is now a home clash with Burnley that awaits the Whites and the Clarets’ record on the road will give Leeds plenty of optimism.
Sean Dyche’s side are yet to win away from home this season and have picked up just four points from the eight matches they have played away from Turf Moor.
Although, the draws they have earned in those games have come against some of the Premier League’s tougher opponents.
Burnley have drawn on their travels to Stamford Bridge, King Power Stadium, Molineux and St Mary’s this term and will be hoping to add their first away win at Elland Road.
Their last win away at Leeds came back in 2013 where goals from Scott Arfield and Sam Vokes helped them to a 2-1 victory in a season where they secured promotion from the Championship.
They didn’t have such luck there last term though as they were beaten 1-0 between almost exactly 12 months ago. Patrick Bamford’s early penalty was enough to send them back to Lancashire empty handed.
Dyche and his players will be more confident of getting at least a point this time around with a number of Leeds players still unavailable through injury or as a result of isolation.
It is unclear, at the moment, which players Bielsa will have at his disposal on Sunday but it will still be very much a depleted squad.
