Leeds United have stumbled on their march towards automatic promotion. They are coming into this weekend’s Swansea clash at home on the back of just two wins in their last five. Their recent form has led to suggestions that the Whites could again implode towards the end of the season.
Daniel Farke and his Leeds United are preparing for the big game against Swansea at Elland Road on Saturday as they look to get their season back on track.
A run of two wins in five has led to much handwringing about Leeds at the business end of the season, but the Whites are still at the top of the Championship table and have an easier run-in than their promotion rivals.
Former Championship star Jobi McAnuff is the latest pundit who has raised questions on whether Leeds would be able to get the job done and earn automatic promotion to the Premier League.
Leeds United have an anxious fanbase, and the doubts are creeping in – McAnuff
Leeds’ recent patchy form has brought the naysayers back out of the woods ahead of the remaining eight Championship games of the season.
McAnuff believes the Leeds fanbase are suffering from anxiety because of the way they imploded last season towards the end, which he feels could happen again this year.
He insisted Leeds have been reeled back in by Sheffield United and Burnley and there are a lot more doubts around the Whites than there should be at this stage of the season.
The ex-midfielder conceded that he is not as sure about Leeds earning automatic promotion as he was even a few weeks back.
“We know about the fanbase there and how anxious they will be getting at this stage of the season. Not just because of last year, but in other years gone by where things haven’t gone well”, McAnuff said on the Essential EFL Podcast.
“After they beat Sheffield United, the table looked like they had a bit of a cushion. I expected them to kick on from there.
“They have been the best team for me, but they have been reeled back in, and that’s where the doubts start creeping in a little bit, doubts that shouldn’t really be there. Because Burnley have picked up, and with Sheffield United hanging around and nicking wins, there’s a lot more anxiety around than there should be.
“We know down the stretch that Leeds have had issues in the past, so I’m not as confident for them as I was that they’ll get the job done.”
He should look at the league table
Leeds players will have to face more scrutiny than others, and at this stage of the season, they will be under the microscope more, given what is at stake.
They are still considered the best team in the Championship, and it is surprising Leeds are not being backed to get automatic promotion when they will face six teams from the bottom half of the table in the final eight games.
Can you name these 10 former Leeds United players?
Leeds have lost just one game all season against a bottom-half team and are going into the business end of the campaign still leading the Championship table.
Yes, Sheffield United and Burnley are in better form, but they will play each other during the run-in, and Leeds should back themselves to get a decent points haul from the remaining eight games of the season.
