Leeds United have to reverse Michael Cooper trend to beat Sheffield United: View | OneFootball

FLW take a deeper look into the performances of Michael Cooper ahead of Sheffield United's trip to Leeds United.

Leeds United and Daniel Farke return to Championship action against Sheffield United at Elland Road on Friday evening in a game which pits the two of the best defensive sides against each other.

The Whites are preparing for one of their more challenging home fixtures when hosting Chris Wilder’s unbeaten Sheffield United. Between them, the two have lost just one league game. Also, only five sides have kept five clean sheets or more, with the Blades keeping seven and Leeds keeping five so far.

Not only that, but Leeds and Sheffield United have given up very few chances thus far, with Leeds conceding seven goals from an xGA of 7.0 and the Blades three goals from an xGA of 6.3 — unsurprisingly, they are the two best sides when analysing the underlying data (per FotMob).

Swansea City, Burnley, and West Brom have all conceded fewer goals than Leeds despite worse xG numbers, which perhaps highlights a problem area in the goalkeeping department; but it also showcases the talents of Sheffield United's No.1, Michael Cooper.

Sheffield United's Michael Cooper is among the Championship's best goalkeepers

Cooper has featured seven times for Wilder's side this season, conceding just once in the process following a summer switch from Plymouth Argyle to Bramall Lane. He has six of their seven clean sheets and sits atop the Championship standings for that particular metric.

While the attacking threat of both teams is obvious, it has been the foundation at the other end which have helped underpin both teams good starts to the season, but that is more pronounced in South Yorkshire than in the West side, and it is Cooper's performances which are likely to be the cause of Leeds' main frustration on Friday.

The consolation for Leeds is that they have proven themselves to be tricky customers for opposition teams this season in both a defensive sense and at the attacking end of the pitch too. The Whites have the second best xG for, and the second best xG against, per FotMob.

They are creating high quality chances consistently, and rarely giving them up at the other end of the pitch; but the game threatens to be a dull and attritional affair, with Chris Wilder's side also ranking well in the defensive metrics. The silver-lining is that they have not yet faced a team of Leeds' quality thus far, who will be playing in front of a packed out Elland Road.

Of course, the game plan for the Blades could be distinctly obvious, with Wilder's side able to use Burnley's blueprint from their win in Leeds last month by hitting Daniel Farke's side in transition and soaking up pressure at the back, which their highly competent box defenders and goalkeeper help to do.

The Blades have also been especially miserly and difficult to open up, but Cooper's heroics have also been important. The 25-year-old has the best save percentage in the division at 92.3%, which is significantly higher than the likes of Lawrence Vigouroux (84.6%) and Alex Palmer (79.3%), just behind him, according to FotMob.

The Sheffield United stopper has only faced eight shots, but he has been excellent when called upon too. Leeds have the quality and individual talent to find answers and the ability to open any team up and unlock doors against the meanest of defences, but they will have their work cut out against Cooper, who is one of the league's best goalkeepers.

If Leeds are to take anything from the game, then they may have to significantly add to Cooper's eight shots on target faced this season, which will obviously not be a simple task for Farke and co. in what is expected to be a low-margin affair.

However, they will take solace in the fact that they are the Blades' biggest test so far, and that surprise factor through moments of individual brilliance could be the difference in a tight fixture. They are two of the season's early pace-setters and are separated by just three points at the top end of the Championship table.

Leeds will hope to get back to winning ways at Elland Road, where they have a chance to move level with Sunderland and Friday's visitors with a return to winning ways. Top spot is up for grabs for both sides ahead of Saturday's fixtures, and Cooper has the potential to be a match-winner (or match-saver) for Wilder's team.

Whatever the result, the early signs are promising in terms of both the results and overall performances so far for both sides, although the defensive solidity and strong foundation in the back five of both teams could be the determining factor on Friday in a fixture which represents one of the toughest tests either will face in the league this season.