Leeds United vs Monaco

Leeds United and Monaco are set to face off against each other in an intriguing summer friendly at the LNER Community Stadium.

Daniel Farke’s managerial career at Leeds United was off to a sluggish start as they finished on the wrong side of a 2-0 scoreline in their opening summer friendly against a juvenile Manchester United side. That disappointing result marked Leeds’ eighth defeat in their last ten matches (D2), not to mention each loss saw them concede multiple goals. With that in mind, a demoralizing 19th-place finish in the 2022/23 Premier League season was barely a surprise. After relinquishing their two-year top-flight status, the ‘Whites’ are desperate to get back on the rails, but an underwhelming 16-game run without a clean sheet doesn’t inspire much confidence. What’s more, Leeds’ last victory dates back to April, emphasizing the depth of their despair.

Meanwhile, Monaco’s situation isn’t as bad as Leeds’, but there’s ample room for improvement following another unsuccessful attempt to secure European qualification. Last season’s 6th-place finish in Ligue 1 saw ‘Les Monégasques’ axe manager Philippe Clement and bring in Adi Hutter as his replacement in June. However, the former Eintracht Frankfurt boss had a rather unpleasant start to his managerial tenure, going winless in his first two games in charge (D1, L1) before steamrolling to a 3-1 triumph over Real Betis last time out. Yet to register a clean sheet under Hutter, the French giants will take the field on the back of six consecutive games without a shutout, suggesting Leeds’ bid to return to winning ways isn’t dead in the water after all.