Leeds United elation expected despite narrow margin with next task 'in the balance' - YEP 22/7/23
Leeds United’s next task is considered in the balance but Whites elation is expected in the longer term.
By Lee Sobot
Daniel Farke’s Whites will take in their second pre-season
friendly against top-flight French outfit AS Monaco at the LNER Community
Stadium in York today and the bookies are finding it very hard to split the two
sides.
Monaco finished sixth in last season’s Ligue 1 and Adi
Hutter’s side are just about favourites for today’s 4pm kick-off in being 5-4
shots with Bet365. Yet Farke’s Whites are only marginally bigger at 6-4 whilst
the draw is on offer at 11-4 and the longer-term prediction for Leeds is
extremely bright.
Leicester City have been favourites for next season’s
Championship ever since betting opened for the 2023-24 campaign and the Foxes
remain comfortably clear at the top of the market in being no bigger than 4-1.
But the bookies expect Leeds to join Enzo Maresca’s side in
sealing automatic promotion as the Whites are second favourites and a
best-priced 15-2 but as short as 5s with some firms. Third-favourites
Southampton are only narrowly behind at 8-1 and the Saints are followed by
Middlesbrough (10s), Norwich City (16s), Ipswich Town (18s) and Watford (18s).
West Brom, Sunderland and Stoke are all then 22-1. Leeds are
5-2 to be promoted – the same price as Southampton – and 5-6 to seal a top-six
finish.
