Leeds United are preparing to take on Tottenham Hotspur at Elland Road, 25 years after the two teams played out a seven-goal thriller in the 2000/01 season.
Daniel Farke and his Leeds team are getting used to the underdog tag following their return to the Premier League, having dominated the Championship last season.
Tottenham have enjoyed a strong start to the new season, but they needed a last-minute goal against Wolves to steal a point, a week after Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored to dispatch the strugglers from the West Midlands.
Leeds are defending a proud home record as Spurs travel to Elland Road, as the Whites look to take another step towards securing their Premier League safety.
They can take inspiration from a dramatic victory 25 years ago, as Mark Viduka and Alan Smith helped Leeds win a thrilling encounter.
Leeds United secured a dramatic win over Spurs in 2000
Leeds came into their clash with Spurs on 30th September 2000 in high spirits, having enjoyed one of their greatest European nights in the recent 6-0 win over Besiktas.
The Elland Road crowd was treated to another goal fest four days later, as Leeds were made to work for their victory. David O’Leary’s side appeared to be suffering from a European hangover when Sergei Rebrov fired home to hand the visitors a 1-0 lead after 37 minutes.
However, Leeds suddenly burst into life in the second half, in a wild twelve-minute period. Having scored his first goal for the club against Besiktas, Viduka pulled Leeds level after 52 minutes, poking home from close range after a Lee Bowyer cross caused chaos in the Spurs box.
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Leeds went ahead three minutes later, as Viduka added his second, sticking out a toe to divert the ball past Neil Sullivan after Gary Kelly had scuffed a speculative long-range effort towards goal.
The Whites appeared to have the game sewn up in the 59th minute as Alan Smith got in on the act. After winning a free-kick on the edge of the Spurs box through some typical harrying on the opposition defence, Smith headed home to give Leeds a seemingly unassailable lead.
But Tottenham refused to lie down, and defender Chris Perry gave them a lifeline when he headed home on the hour mark. Leeds looked to have killed the game for a second time when Smith added his second header of the game to make it 4-2 before Rebrov’s late goal set up a tense finish.
The win moved Leeds back up to fourth in the table, with four wins and two points from their opening eight games in a season dominated by their European campaign.
Leeds vs Tottenham – Head-to-head record
The overall head-to-head between Leeds and Tottenham is broadly equal over the years, according to 11vs11, with Spurs holding the upper hand on balance.
In 103 games between the two sides in all competitions, Tottenham have won 41 times, with 29 draws.
Leeds have tasted victory 33 times, but they have struggled in the recent meetings between the two sides.