Leeds United finally has confirmed all of their dates for preseason. Leeds travels to Austria for a week, facing some continental competition, and also has a few dates with some local competition. While most clubs had all of their preseason dates announced weeks, if not months, in advance, the Whites left the details late, only confirming dates this past Friday.
#LUFC can now reveal the first details of pre-season ahead of the 2017/18 campaign. Find out more at https://t.co/afbGqphj4o pic.twitter.com/gx9WrxMGLO
— Leeds United (@LUFC) June 23, 2017
First, Leeds travels a short distance to Harrogate in Yorkshire to take on National League North club Harrogate Town on July 5th, take another short Yorkshire journey to Guiseley to face National League squad Guiseley AFC on July 8th, and finally head east to North Ferriby to face North Ferriby United AFC, who were relegated from the National League to the National League North at the end of last season.
Most local Leeds fans will be at least somewhat familiar with these areas, but if you need any directions or a guide to local pubs, The Internet Football Ground Guide is a great resource for all things away-day related.
The final tune-up before the season is against Oxford United, as Leeds United host the League One side in the final preseason date, as part of the agreement over the transfer of Kemar Roofe from Oxford to Leeds. The Whites take on Oxford on the 29th of July, eight days before their opening fixture on the road against Bolton Wanderers at the Macron Stadium.
The more interesting dates, obviously, are the yet-to-be-determined date in Austria and the friendly against Borussia Monchengladbach that will also take place in Austria. The fixture against Gladbach, as we noted before, will probably be the highlight of the pre-season for Leeds United fans, but the “unknown” one will probably create rumors that will swirl online and on Twitter until the club announces an official replacement for Celta Vigo, the La Liga side that allegedly dropped out in the first place.
Maybe of interest are clubs also in the region when Leeds are said to be (14 – 21/7). #lufc pic.twitter.com/Q0mXbzX8sR
— TBG (@TBG2005) June 22, 2017
Looking at the clubs that are in the area at the same time as Leeds, of course, will lead to some speculation as to who the opponents might be for the friendly match. Of course it would be a bit boring to travel all the way to Austria to take on Fleetwood Town or Wolverhampton, but given the current tug of war that is rumored to be occurring between CD Eibar and Leeds over Samu Saiz, playing them in the final preseason game just has to be it, right?
Anyway, safe travels to those who will be following the Whites into the mountains of Austria on their preseason journey, and feel free to drop us a line or two in either a fan-post or an email if you wish to share your experience! #MOT