Leeds United fans face major travel disruption for their Boxing Day trip to Aston Villa. Network Rail has confirmed that Birmingham New Street station will be closed on December 26 for engineering work, forcing supporters to find alternative routes to Villa Park.
The fixture is set for a 12:30pm kickoff, with the away end typically packed with around 3,000 travelling fans. For many, the train to Birmingham New Street is the preferred option, being just a couple of hours from Leeds. Network Rail said the Christmas period was chosen deliberately for the work. "Christmas time has deliberately been selected as it quieter to the rest of the year for those travelling on certain days, but not neccessarily football fans," a spokesperson said.
Fans now face the prospect of travelling to stations outside Birmingham and finding other transport to the ground. This unwelcome news comes as Leeds, currently fifth in the Premier League with nine points from five games, prepare for a tough run of away fixtures. They travel to second-placed Arsenal on October 10, with further trips to Sunderland, Bournemouth, Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool all scheduled before the Villa game on December 26.
Daniel Farke's side are six points behind leaders Manchester City and will be looking to build on a recent run of form that reads one win, three draws and one defeat from their last five outings. Their last result was a 0-0 draw at home to Crystal Palace. Supporters can check the full upcoming schedule on the club's fixtures page and view the current standings. The next challenge is that trip to the Emirates Stadium in early October.
More detail at MOT Leeds News
