Hotels for Leeds United v Fulham

A Saturday afternoon fixture in the heart of the Championship or Premier League football calendar, this is the kind of match that fills pubs from midday and sends fans walking up in yellow-and-blue or white shirts well before kick-off. December fixtures tend to carry extra weight, with sides fighting to avoid a poor Christmas period in the table. Local pubs nearby fill early, so arriving in good time pays off.

Leeds United were formed in 1919, after the Football League forcibly disbanded their predecessor, Leeds City, over allegations of illegal wartime payments to players. Originally known as the Peacocks, after the old name for the Elland Road ground, the club became the Whites once Don Revie introduced an all-white kit in 1961 in deliberate imitation of Real Madrid.

Revie's side went on to dominate English football through the 1960s and early 1970s, winning two league titles, an FA Cup, a League Cup and two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, and reaching the 1975 European Cup final. That era still defines Elland Road's sense of itself as a sleeping giant of the English game.

Leeds United's fervent home, Elland Road sits southwest of the city centre in the Beeston area, an atmospheric and historic ground that roars on a big matchday. The immediate surroundings are workaday, but the vibrant Leeds city centre, with its bars, arcades and restaurants, is a short bus or taxi ride away.

Regular matchday buses run from the centre and station. Staying in town keeps the nightlife and rail links close while leaving an easy run out to the ground for kick-off.