'Biggest factor' in Leeds United's promotion chances as 'anxiety' point made amid Sheffield Utd & Burnley race — YEP 25/3/25
By Kyle Newbould
Leeds United have eight games to decide their Championship
promotion fate.
Sky Sports pundit Don Goodman still believes Leeds United
will be promoted for one simple reason - they are the Championship’s top team.
Leeds are top of the Championship going into the final eight
games, despite a drop in form that has seen them take just five points from
their last four games. Daniel Farke’s side were tipped to pull clear of the
pack following wins over Sunderland and Sheffield United but their previous
five-point gap disappeared in the blink of an eye.
The March international break is hoped to have provided an
opportunity to reset at Leeds, with a boost arriving in the form of Ethan
Ampadu’s imminent return to team training. And EFL pundit Goodman expects
Farke’s squad to attack the run-in with the mentality of being the
Championship’s best.
Don Goodman backs Leeds United’s promotion chances
"What happened last season and what they experienced
should stand them in good stead.” Goodman told Sky Sports’ Essential EFL
podcast. “The pain of that will surely drive this group and the manager
onwards. The biggest factor in their favour for me is, and I say this with the
greatest of respect to Burnley and Sheffield United, is that Leeds are the best
team in the league.
"That doesn't mean they're going to get the most
points, but the mentality of the group needs to be: 'We are the best team, and
even if things go wrong we can recover.' But Burnley and Sheffield United
taking double the amount of points Leeds have in the last four games will keep
them on their toes."
Many Leeds supporters will attest to things not being that
simple, and a run of one win in four has undoubtedly set the nerves jangling in
some sections of the fanbase. Farke’s side were in this position a year ago,
having gone top just before the March international break before winning two of
their final eight regular-season matches and then losing in the play-offs.
It is a time of the year Leeds fans have seen their team
fall short all too often, with memories still fresh of that 2-1 defeat to
10-man Wigan or last season’s 4-0 thrashing at QPR. And former Reading
midfielder McAnuff believes if anything will prove their downfall, then it will
be the anxiety of a repeat.
“We know about the fanbase there and how anxious they will
be getting at this stage of the season,” McAnuff added. "Not just because
of last year, but in other years gone by where things haven't gone well. After
they beat Sheffield United the table looked like they had a bit of a cushion. I
expected them to kick on from there.