Leeds United gained a massive psychological advantage over their Premier League relegation rivals, West Ham, by defeating the Hammers on penalties yesterday in the FA Cup.
The Whites booked their place in the semi-final of the FA Cup for the first time since 1987, thanks to some heroics from Lucas Perri in the shootout as Leeds were forced to hold on after surrendering a two-goal lead in stoppage time.
There was controversy off the pitch, as West Ham fans were trapped outside of the London Stadium after attempting to make their way back in after initially leaving early with the game being 2-0 to the visitors.
It was a chaotic affair that had everything, and a former West Ham manager has given his honest thoughts on what the future holds for Leeds between now and the end of the season.
Alan Pardew expects Leeds to stay up
Pardew, 64, was the West Ham manager between 2003 and 2006 and was covering the aftermath of the Leeds and West Ham game on talkSPORT.
Whilst claiming he was impressed with the desire his former side showed to get back into the game late on, Pardew was also extremely complimentary of Leeds and their performance.
“At 1-0 down, West Ham had their best spell of the whole game, and then Leeds have obviously gone up the other end, got a second goal, they played well by the way Leeds, I don’t want to drag Leeds down, they had a terrific attitude to that game.”
This “terrific attitude” has seemingly given Pardew the confidence that Leeds will retain their top-flight status come the end of the season.
“I think Leeds will be safe by then (when they play West Ham again in the league), because I think that little cushion is enough for them if I’m honest, they need one or two wins, probably two, and I think they’ve got enough quality, and they’ve got home games that are winnable.”
Leeds fans will certainly be hoping Pardew is correct, as a trip to the London Stadium on the final day of the season, with the Whites’ Premier League status at stake, will be a scenario Daniel Farke and Co. will hopefully avoid.
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Data will give Leeds encouragement that they can stay up
Although United currently have a four-point gap between themselves and the bottom three with just seven Premier League games remaining, Farke’s side look as though they were running out of steam in recent weeks.
Prior to the West Ham game, Leeds’ last goal against Premier League opposition was Anton Stach’s incredible free-kick against Aston Villa at the end of February.
- Ao Tanaka’s strike ended a four-game goalless run against Premier League opposition
- Leeds were threatening when they went forward against West Ham, amassing an xG of 3.09
- Leeds also had four big chances during the game (Sofascore)
The Whites’ trouble in that game came defensively, but from a purely attacking perspective, Leeds looked far more of a threat than they have done in recent games.
This can arguably be put down to the likes of Noah Okafor and Tanaka coming back into the team, with the pair making a compelling case for themselves to start in Leeds’ next Premier League outing against Manchester United.
