Chris Sutton and Paul Merson disagree on Leeds United v Crystal Palace prediction
The predictions are in for the Premier League match-up between Leeds United and Crystal Palace on Saturday night.
Leeds United host Crystal Palace at Elland Road on Saturday hoping to continue their fine run of form in the Premier League.
If Daniel Farke’s side win or draw in this one, then they will go four games unbeaten in the league in a stellar turn of fortunes from the situation before the 3-1 win against Chelsea when pressure was building on the German boss.
Now three points ahead of West Ham United in 18th, Leeds will want to use the platform built at Elland Road to kick on further against Oliver Glasner’s team.
Crystal Palace also have to combat a significant amount of fixtures in a short space of time at the moment. This game was originally scheduled for Sunday afternoon but was brought forward because of the Eagles’ game against Arsenal in the Carabao Cup quarter-final on Tuesday. Yet, they still had to play in the Conference League on Thursday night, albeit with a much-changed team, and will only have a 48-hour gap between that game and the trip to Yorkshire on Saturday night.
Former Chelsea striker Chris Sutton gave his verdict for this one in his usual predictions column for BBC Sport, stating that this game would be “very close”.
“Fair play to Leeds boss Daniel Farke, too. I've said it before, but I am delighted for him,” he said.
“He was written off a few weeks ago as not being able to manage in the Premier League and it felt as if some people were waiting for him to be sacked. He has proved them all wrong.
“Farke's side are always a handful at home and will relish the challenge of getting another good result on Saturday, but I can see this being a very close contest.
“Palace are the counter-attack kings and they are especially effective away from home - they have won their past three matches on the road and have the best away record in the Premier League this season with five wins, a draw and only two defeats from eight games so far.
“So, do I go with the energy of Leeds or back streetwise Palace?
“I am tempted to go with Oliver Glasner's side to nick it but they have got a Europa Conference League game to contend with on Thursday, which has stretched them in the past.
“They are going to miss Ismaila Sarr, too, who has gone to Afcon with Senegal, so on that basis I am going for another draw instead.”
Sutton gave his prediction as 1-1.
‘Leeds could beat Palace by half-time at Elland Road’
Writing on the Sportskeeda website, Paul Merson gave a bold prediction about this game and spoke highly about the form Leeds are in.
“I'm going for Leeds to win this one! Crystal Palace look like a really tired football team now,” he said. “I know Palace made several changes in midweek, but I doubt they have a chance here.
“Leeds have turned a bent in recent weeks. They are now on a run of three games without a defeat. If you're a Leeds fan and you need more positivity, they have also scored at least one goal in each of their last six games. If you need to stay up, you need to score goals. In this league, 0-0 draws won't get you anywhere!
“I believe it's a direct battle between Leeds and West Ham to avoid relegation. If Brentford lose this weekend, you can consider them to be in it too, but that's unlikely. If Leeds play with the same tempo we've seen them in recent weeks, they can beat Palace by half-time at Elland Road!”
The Arsenal legend’s prediction for this one is Leeds 2-0 Crystal Palace.
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