Leeds United’s pre-season preparations continue with a friendly against Monaco at the LNER Community Stadium on Saturday.
It’s another high profile sparring session for the Whites following the 2-0 defeat to Manchester United in Oslo last week.
As the Championship lift-off inches closer, Daniel Farke will welcome the opportunity to assess his charges in another match situation while continuing to experiment with different formations.
With about three weeks to go to the opening day fixture against Cardiff City, ‘momentum’ is the word.
Below, we discuss everything you need to know for the Leeds United friendly against Monaco.
When is the match?
Sat 22 July – Leeds United v AS Monaco – LNER Community Stadium, York, 16:00
Where is the Match venue?
The match will be played at the LNER Community Stadium, a 8,500 seat arena that normally hosts York City FC and Rugby League York City Knights.
Broadcasting channels/Live Streaming services
Subscribers can watch the game live on the Leeds United TV streaming channel
Recent form
Leeds United come into this clash on the back of a 2-0 friendly defeat by Manchester United as Farke made his managerial debut for the club. It was the Whites’ first match since the final day defeat by Tottenham as the club exited the Premier League.
By contrast, Monaco will be looking for a second successive win after beating Real Betis 3-1 on Wednesday night, bouncing back from a 3-0 defeat by Circle Brugge in the previous friendly. A brace by Kevin Volland and a goal by former Liverpool forward and Japanese international Takumi Minamino sealed the impressive win for the French Ligue 1 outfit.
Players to watch
There is a lot of excitement around and focus on the likes of Lewis Bate, Archie Gray, Charlie Gray, Joe Gelhardt, Cody Drameh, Leo Hjelde and Darko Gyabi – youngsters tipped to stake their claims for regular first-team football in the coming season. However, for this match I will be keeping a keen eye on 18-year-old central defender Kris Moore, 22-year-old Norwegian goalkeeper Kristoffer-August Sundquist Klaesson and newest acquisition, Wales international Ethan Ampadu.
Ampadu in particular excites me because he can play both in defence and midfield. He is a very good option to have in the squad and it will be interesting to see where the manager plays him. Ideally, Ampadu would play in both halves and in different positions in each.
Predicted line-ups
Trying to predict the line-up for pre-season friendlies is a futile exercise. For these matches managers try to mix and match, experiment with different formations and give as many players as possible some playing time.
Like Leeds United, Monaco have a new manager after parting ways with Philippe Clement at the end of the season. The new man at the helm Adi Hutter’s priorities are not too dissimilar too Farke’s; get to know the players and get them to buy into his philosophy.
In fact, Farke was appointed Leeds United manager the same week Monaco confirmed Hutter as their new head coach. To add to the intrigue, it was Farke who replaced Hutter at Borussia Monchengladbach when the Austrian left the club in May 2022.
Head-to-head record
Leeds United and Monaco met in a friendly last December during the World Cup mid-season break with the French outfit prevailing 4-2. Robin Koch (who has since joined Eintracht Frankfurt on loan) and Joe Gelhardt were on target for Jesse Marsch’s men, who were undone by goals from Gelson Martins (2), Breel Embolo and Ismail Jakobs.
Match odds and predictions
Just as it is futile to predict starting line-ups for friendlies it is equally difficult to pick a winner, especially when there isn’t much to choose between the two teams in terms of stature and profile.
I’m predicting a 2-1 win for Monaco, especially if they play as well as they did against Real Betis and if Hutter plays the same strong squad he deployed against the La Liga opponents.
Injuries and suspensions
None confirmed at the time of writing, but two players who definitely won’t feature for Leeds United are goalkeeper Joe Robles and midfielder Marc Roca, who left the club on a free transfer and on loan respectively. Robles joined Al-Qadisiyah while Roca has been farmed out to Real Betis.
Important milestones or records
Ethan Ampadu looks set to make his debut for Leeds United after signing from Chelsea this week on a four-year contract.
Where to buy tickets for the match
The prices are as follows:
Purchase Concessions Tickets: £10
How to get to the LNER Community Stadium, York
The LNER Community Stadium is about three miles from the centre of York, where the main station, York Station, is situated.
It is recommended that you catch a taxi and use the North car park for drop-off and pick-up.
Weather forecast
Take an umbrella or pack-a-mack as there is a 80% chance of rain and 16°
Food and refreshments
A pint of lager at the LNER Community Stadium costs around £4.24.
