Both Brighton and Brentford did Leeds a massive favour on March 15th, with both sides picking up victories over United’s relegation rivals. The former managed to pick up a narrow 1-0 victory over Crystal Palace at the AmEx while the latter defeated Southampton by two goals to nil at St. Mary’s. The Yorkshire club now have a game in hand on both teams, as well as Everton—who are two points ahead—and they have been handed a Premier League lifeline. Despite that, oddschecker, which compares English football odds and offers, still makes the Whites one of the favourites for the drop this season.
And that could be down to the torrid run in that new manager Javi Gracia must navigate if he wishes to secure top-flight football for his club next season. The run-in resembles that of last season, where Leeds faced Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea back-to-back-to-back in the final three weeks of the season. Jesse Marsch managed to steer the Elland Road club to safety thanks to Jack Harrison’s last-gasp winner away at Brentford on the final day of the season. And it looks like another nail-biting conclusion could be on the cards this term.
Here is a preview of Leeds United’s final month of the 2022/23 campaign, and what we can expect to see in the club’s fight for survival.
Liverpool (h) - April 17th
Last year's UEFA Champions League and Premier League runners-up Liverpool will head to Elland Road on April 17th and they will be aiming to put a dent in Leeds United’s survival hopes, as well as strengthening their chances of claiming a spot in the top four. The Reds haven’t been their usual selves this season, but with a team containing the likes of Mohamed Salah, Virgil Van Dijk and Darwin Núñez, they're headed up the M62 as firm favourites.It’s worth mentioning that the game against Liverpool will be Leeds’ third home game in a row. In the fortnight prior to Jürgen Klopp’s side visiting West Yorkshire, The Whites will face off against Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace, and those games are the ones that United need to pick up victories in. If they can’t do that, then there will be added pressure on the game against the Merseysiders.
Fulham (a) - April 22nd
One of the division's surprise packages this season has been Fulham. The Cottagers currently sit in ninth place in the Premier League table and are aiming to bring European football back to the club for the first time in a decade. While this isn’t the most difficult challenge that Leeds will face in their survival bid, the Craven Cottage outfit will head into the tussle as favourites, and United will need to be at their very best if they are to head back up the M1 with any points.