Leeds United were expected to drop out of the summit of the Championship table by the time they kick-off against Burnley at Turf Moor tonight. But that has not happened as Sheffield United suffered a shock defeat at home against Hull City on Saturday. Sunderland, another one of the automatic promotion contenders, dropped points against Plymouth after only managing a 2-2 draw at the Stadium of Light over the weekend. This sets up nicely for Leeds United to build their lead at the top of the league table further if they manage to win at Turf Moor against Burnley tonight. Three points in Lancashire will help the team take a giant stride towards winning promotion to the Premier League.
It’s tight at the top of the Championship table as the race for automatic promotion to the Premier League heats up with four teams vying to finish in the top two.
Leeds United are leading the table but Sheffield United, Burnley and Sunderland are very much in the race and are vying to get to the Premier League next season.
Results at the weekend have thrown up further surprises after Sheffield United suffered a shock 3-0 defeat against a struggling Hull City side at Bramall Lane.
Sunderland also only earned a point at home against Plymouth. These two results have nicely set up Leeds and Burnley’s match tonight at Turf Moor.
Both teams now have a huge incentive to win all three points tonight. A win for Leeds could help them take a major stride towards automatic promotion to the Premier League at the end of the season.
A point will be nice but Leeds United should go for a win tonight
Burnley are the only team to beat Leeds at Elland Road when they won 1-0 in West Yorkshire against the Whites towards the early part of the season.
Leeds have come a long way since then and have been remarkably consistent, including improving their results and performances away from home since last month.
A point away from home tonight will keep Leeds at the summit of the Championship table but now, Leeds have big reasons to go for a win at Burnley if they can.
Until now, Leeds have a tiny lead at the top of the league table but they have a massive opportunity to open up some breathing space at the summit of the table.
A win tonight will help them to build a four-point lead at the top of the Championship table but more importantly, they will have a six-point buffer over third-place Burnley.
A six-point lead above third place will be massive for Leeds as it will give them much-needed breathing space in the automatic promotion spots.
We argued that Leeds can’t afford to lose at Burnley and felt that a point would be a good result for Daniel Farke’s men tonight. However, the weekend’s results have changed the scenario a bit and now they have the motivation to score a big away win against one of their biggest rivals.
However, they should not throw caution to the wind
Leeds’ style of football is a mix of controlled aggression, patience and trying to remain calm in the middle of the park. They will need all those attributes to get a result at Burnley.
The home side are not known for their goalscoring but Burnley have the meanest defence in the league and Scott Parker has built a team based on keeping it tight at the back.
Burnley will look to play on the counter against the highest scorers of the Championship even at home and will look to frustrate Daniel Farke’s men.
Sheffield United and Sunderland’s results on Saturday means Leeds now have a big reason to win and they could easily make the mistake of being too adventurous, which would be playing into Burnley’s hands.
Leeds will need to show patience and remain calm if they want to break down the Burnley defence and score the goals needed to walk away with all three points.
