This season,Daniel Farke of Leeds United and Enzo Maresca of Leicester City had one goal in mind: promotion.
With 13 wins from their first 14 games—their lone loss coming at the hands of Hull—the Foxes have set a record and are now riding high in the standings. Leeds, meanwhile, has moved up to third place after a shaky start to the season.
Together with Kieran McKenna’s winning Ipswich team, the two appear to be the most likely to be vying for a spot in the Premier League again. Following their relegation from the first division, they made slightly different managerial hires, which led to their excellent runs.
First up, the league leaders, Leicester, were in a state of disarray following their decision to part with Dean Smith. The Midlanders’ Premier League status was not maintained by the former Brentford and Aston Villa managers.
After bouncing around names like Scott Parker and Steven Gerrard, they ultimately decided on Enzo Maresca, the former Manchester City assistant to Pep Guardiola. Given that the Italian’s only previous senior management experience saw him fired by Parma after just 14 games, there was understandable trepidation.
These concerns have already been allayed, as Leicester currently leads their upcoming opponents, Leeds, by a margin of 14 points. Remaining loyal to the Yorkshire team, they took a little different approach to appointing a replacement for Sam Allardyce.
Daniel Farke, the 2020–21 manager of the year and two-time champion, was brought in on a four-year contract. There aren’t many stronger options, on paper, to try and get Leeds back into the Premier League right away.
Despite just two wins from their opening seven league games, Farke’s side have won five out of their last seven and could lay down quite a statement with a victory at the King Power Stadium. While the two sides took a differing approach in the dugout, Friday’s clash in the Midlands also saw a collision of two contrasting styles.
