Leeds United Premier League rivals buoyed by noise and millions of reasons for Whites to fight on

The Whites made themselves all-but safe from relegation on Friday night with a 3-1 victory over already-down Burnley. That victory pushed Daniel Farke's men on to 43 points for the season. And though Spurs picked up a victory over a much-changed and lacklustre Aston Villa side to climb out of the drop zone, Leeds remain seven points clear of 18th-placed West Ham with nine to play for. The Whites are 14th, with Crystal Palace, Nottingham Forest and Spurs between them and the relegation places. Should West Ham lose to title-chasing Arsenal on Sunday then Leeds will be mathematically safe before kicking another ball. The games against Tottenham Hotspur, Brighton and West Ham would be rendered dead rubbers in terms of Leeds' relegation battle but each fixture will remain important for various reasons.

Spurs are not out of the woods yet and must match or better West Ham's results to stay up. Everyone still involved in the race to avoid 18th will be tuning in to next Monday night's fixture at Tottenham Stadium. Then it's Brighton at Elland Road. A side who are hunting Europe. Brentford, Bournemouth and Chelsea are likely to retain special interest in that game. And if the relegation battle is still a going concern on the final day then what happens when Leeds travel to West Ham could be pivotal.

For anyone in the Premier League concerned that Leeds might adopt an 'on the beach' approach to their final fixtures, Farke's words may offer some reassurance. "The main thing is to stay in this league," he said. "If we do this and are able to celebrate this, it would be a major achievement. We won't play in Europe but I would rather finish 11th than 12th, or 12th than 13th. Even if I wasn't a professional, I hate to lose even in the garden with my mates. Even if we're mathematically safe we'll fight for each and every point. We want to finish as strong as possible to enjoy the last game."

It is a sentiment echoed by one of his star men, Anton Stach. The German midfielder said: "It's mathematically not done. So of course, we are happy with the win [over Burnley] but we we fight and try to get the points we need, because it's still possible that we can get sucked into the relegation battle. And so yeah, we celebrate a bit the win, but not [staying up]."

But beyond respecting the competition, the very professional noises Leeds are making and the expectations of a fanbase that wants to party three more times before the season is over, there are a few million other reasons for them to target nine points. For the 2024/25 season the difference in Premier League prize money was roughly £2.7m. In 2023/24 it was around £2.8m per position. Given that finishing sixth could earn about £40m and the side in 18th will be paid around £8m, remaining competitive and fighting to the very end is lucrative business.

Added to that, it is not just the club that stands to earn more the higher they finish in the Premier League table. Every year before a season begins the club captain sits down with the CEO - in this case it was Ethan Ampadu and Robbie Evans - to thrash out the terms of the player bonus pool. That pool, which is shared out between the squad, pays by league placement. So keeping their momentum alive, attacking each game and earning more points will earn them more money.