Leeds United’s Difficult September Starts Saturday with Huddersfield Town

The first few days of September have been quiet outside of the usual “Cellino In” vs. “Time To Go Massimo” bickering online. But once Saturday hits, the games come in bunches, with seven games in three weeks time (the seventh on 1 October). Here are the September fixtures we have in front of us.

I think it is worth taking a look at what the Mighty Whites will be facing on the pitch, and so we start... with Huddersfield Town.

Team: Huddersfield Town

Venue: Elland Road

Time: 15:00

Date: 10/09/2016

Competition: Championship

The first team we play is the current league leaders, Huddersfield Town. Huddersfield have surprised everyone and started the season superbly, winning 4 and drawing 1 in their first 5 league games of the season, including a win against title favourites Newcastle United at St James's Park.

Leeds will have to play a complete 90 minutes on Saturday, because 4 out of the 7 goals Huddersfield have scored have come from impact players off the bench. David Wagner's team has created a mentally tough squad with a togetherness you usually see in teams challenging for promotion.

Leeds can take solace in the fact that Huddersfield have only kept 1 clean sheet so far this season. So, if Wood and Antonsson are on form, we should be able to knock the Terriers off the top of the table.

Team: Blackburn Rovers

Venue: Elland Road & Elland Road

Time: 19:45 & 19:45

Date: 13/09/2016 & 20/09/2016

Competition: Championship & EFL Cup

We welcome Blackburn Rovers twice within 7 days. Blackburn are one of the few teams whose start to the season has been worse than Leeds. Blackburn are rooted to the bottom of the league, with their only point coming in a 2-2 draw against Burton. They seem completely lost so far this season.

Blackburn reacted and brought in left-back Charlie Mulgrew on a free transfer and Marvin Emnes from Swansea on loan until January. However, they have conceded 12 goals in the league, and I fancy us to add to Owen Coyle's woes and win both games comfortably at Elland Road.

Team: Cardiff City

Venue: Cardiff City Stadium

Time: 15:00

Date: 17/09/2016

Competition: Championship

Midway through September, we travel to Wales to play The Bluebirds, Cardiff City. Cardiff's start to the season mirrors Leeds' in a lot of ways; struggling at the back and finding it hard to score goals.

Cardiff have failed to find the net against Birmingham, QPR and Reading. They also play high scoring Norwich on Saturday, which might pile on the pressure on the Welsh side.

They have strengthened upfront by bringing in Rickie Lambert on a late deal on Wednesday. He is a striker with a great championship pedigree, an addition we have failed to match at Leeds.

Since Cardiff's relegation, they have struggled for consistency, and it’s hard to tell which Cardiff side our lads will play on the 17th. Although, I expect the South East Corner of the stadium will be rocking to the tune of Marching on Together regardless, and if they can repeat the Smash-and-Grab of March, the away fans will go home happy.

Team: Ipswich Town

Venue: Elland Road

Time: 15:00

Date: 24/09/2016

Competition: Championship

We return home on the 24th to face Mick McCarthy's Ipswich. They have had a mediocre start to the season, picking up 8 points and sitting 11th - but sit only 1 point away from the playoffs.

Ipswich have a tough run before they come to Yorkshire. They travel to Reading and Derby before returning to Portman Road for a difficult fixture against Aston Villa. Hopefully, after a difficult and busy month for the Tractor Boys, their batteries will be running low and we will take advantage.

Team: Bristol City

Venue: Aston Gate

Time: 15:00

Date: 27/09/2016

Competition: Championship

The Leeds squad end the month at Aston Gate to play a Bristol side who under Lee Johnson have been a revelation this season. Their 2 losses came against relegated Premier League sides Newcastle and Aston Villa.

Bristol are a young hungry side, with a young hungry manager and in my opinion , they should be up there all season.

However, they will be tested throughout September with games against Sheffield Wednesday, Derby and Fulham to contend with before we visit at the end of the month. We will know more about which kind of Championship side will we be up against after these games.

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Overall, we have a difficult September against decent sides (Blackburn excluded), but if Garry Monk can address the defensive issues and give us an urgency we are clearly missing, we could make September a month to remember. I believe the squad is good enough to take at least 9 points over the next 3 weeks, and move on in the EFL Cup. Sound good? MOT.