Leeds United claimed a hard-earned point at Brentford, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin once more on the scoresheet to make it four Premier League goals in as many matches.
The result keeps Leeds 17th in the standings and three points above the relegation zone, after coming through a challenging away fixture against a Brentford side that has been particularly strong at home this campaign.
With six defeats in their previous seven league trips on the road, the 1-1 draw offered welcome encouragement. Leeds produced a measured and determined display to end that run and take something from the contest.
Daniel Farke’s side again showed the grit and quality required at this level, adding weight to the belief that they are well equipped to fight for Premier League survival in their first season back among the elite.
Jamie Redknapp believes Leeds United have a new relegation rival in Bournemouth
Leeds are three points clear of the relegation zone, and sit 17th in the Premier League table. However, it is getting tighter at the bottom of the standings.
Nottingham Forest’s form has allowed them to build a five-point gap over teams in the relegation zone. However, Rednapp believes one more team are set to get sucked into the battle.
He stressed Bournemouth’s form has gone downhill fast in the last few weeks. They are on a winless streak of five, losing three of those games.
Redknapp believes they should still have enough to survive. However, he feels they are facing the threat of getting dragged into the relegation quagmire.
“You look at the table there, the one that stands out to me is Bournemouth”, Redknapp said on Sky Sports News.
“I know they play on Monday Night Football against Manchester United, but ahead of that game, they are looking over their shoulders on 20 points.
“They were 2nd earlier in the season, right up there looking like the surprise package of the season, but a few bad results and they have been dragged into it.
“I think they will still feel like they will be okay, but it’s going to be interesting to see how it plays out because there are a number of teams in it who didn’t expect to be.”
Read more: Jamie Carragher predicts Brentford to go down after Leeds United draw
The relegation battle will be tight
Bournemouth started the season in good form, and also played out a hard-fought draw at Leeds earlier in the campaign. However, they have tailed off in recent weeks.
Andoni Iraola accepted at Elland Road earlier in the season that his team were outfought by Leeds, but no one expected them to be this close to the Whites in the league table at this stage of the season.
The relegation battle is likely to go down to the wire. Wolves seem condemned to go down, but the other two spots are very much undecided at the moment.
Burnley have looked poor, but are not completely cut adrift, and West Ham have the quality to bounce back in the latter half of the season.
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | Nottingham Forest | 16 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 17 | 25 | -8 | 18 |
| 17 | Leeds United | 16 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 20 | 30 | -10 | 16 |
| 18 | West Ham United | 16 | 3 | 4 | 9 | 19 | 32 | -13 | 13 |
| 19 | Burnley | 16 | 3 | 1 | 12 | 18 | 33 | -15 | 10 |
| 20 | Wolverhampton Wanderers | 16 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 9 | 35 | -26 | 2 |
Leeds are only three points above the Hammers, and teams such as Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth could still get sucked into the relegation battle.
Farke’s team do not look like they will get relegated. However, they could drop into the bottom three if they go on another run of poor form.
Leeds need to hold on to their current momentum and keep picking up points consistently to ensure they do not get sucked into the relegation zone again.
