Leeds United vs Cardiff City Prediction: Leeds will want an immediate return to the Premier League

Leeds United will welcome Cardiff City at Elland Road in Gameweek 1 of the English Championship. Leeds will want an immediate return to the Premier League and is one of the favourites to win the league come May. Who will come out on top after 90 minutes?

This summer, Leeds fans have needed to exercise patience, waiting for the club's takeover to be completed and a new head coach to be appointed to lead them towards promotion. Both aspects are now in place, with Daniel Farke, a two-time Championship title winner with Norwich City, taking charge to lead the charge for the second-tier crown.

The club has focused on player departures, letting go of as many as nine players who featured in the first team last season. So far, only goalkeeper Karl Darlow and defender Ethan Ampadu have been brought in. However, there is an expectation that more signings will follow, given Leeds' history of investing in young and exciting talent.

Leeds has experienced mixed results in pre-season, with defeats against Manchester United and Monaco, but they responded with victories over Nottingham Forest and Hearts.

Meslier; Ayling, Cooper, Struijk, Hjelde; Ampadu, Shackleton; James, Summerville, Sinisterra; Gelhardt

Despite facing restrictions in the transfer market, Cardiff fans hold quiet optimism for the upcoming campaign. The close call with relegation was followed by the appointment of former Fenerbahce boss Erol Bulut, the anticipated return of Aaron Ramsey, and astute business in attack.

Cardiff's signings of players like Josh Bowler, Yakou Meite, Karlan Grant, and Ike Ugbo to strengthen their attacking options deserve more attention than they have received. This could be a factor that surprises a few people this season.

However, their pre-season results were not ideal, with defeats to Braga and Porto without scoring, as well as a goalless draw against Wycombe Wanderers. These matches did not provide the confidence boost they needed ahead of their challenge at Elland Road.

Allsop; Ng, Goutas, Simpson, O'Dowda; Wintle, Adams, Ramsey; Ojo, Grant, Ugbo

As Leeds is still in the process of making most of their incoming signings, Cardiff has a genuine chance to cause an upset on Sunday. However, the home advantage could play a crucial role, and the Yorkshire giants might have the edge to win this match in the closing stages. Expect more than 2.5 goals to be scored in this game.