Neil Warnock makes Leeds United Championship promotion prediction as Premier League survival chances rated
Leeds United are well-placed to secure a return to the Premier League ahead of this evening's trip to Sheffield United.
Neil Warnock believes an improved team spirit could be the difference as Leeds United look to win Championship promotion at the second time of asking.
Leeds will hope to further cement their automatic promotion credentials this evening when they face another of Warnock’s former clubs, Sheffield United, at Bramall Lane. Daniel Farke’s side have a four-point gap on Burnley in third which could be increased to seven with just 12 games remaining.
A 15-game unbeaten league run has many similarities with the previous campaign but Leeds will hope for a different ending this time round, with late slip-ups preceding an all-too-familiar feeling of play-off heartbreak at Wembley. And Warnock believes a more balanced squad with better spirit should set them apart.
Warnock promotion prediction
“I think the two at the top are favourites but everyone knows Leeds, not bottled it, but when they lost in the play-offs I was covering it and I said to Daniel [Farke] I thought certain big-time players let him down,” Warnock told talkSPORT. “I was glad to see he let them go. I think they're more of a team now, they've got more team spirit than they had then. They might not have an individual like [Crysencio] Summerville but they've got more team spirit. These two [Leeds and Sheffield United] will go up.
“I never thought Sunderland were in the race because they've got such a young squad. They're learning all the time. I think the two goals Leeds scored in injury time destroyed them, I wasn’t really surprised when they lost at home on Saturday. Burnley, we always joke that the fans might as well go home once they’ve scored. [Scott Parker] has sorted it out from the back. I think the lad, [Marcus] Edwards, looks really exciting and he might be the missing cog that gives them the impetus.”
Premier League chances rated
All involved with Leeds know there is still so much to play for, with victory tonight only opening up a seven-point gap with 36 points still to be won, but those above Farke will undoubtedly be planning for the possibility of promotion. A return to the Premier League will be the catalyst for a busy summer of investment in West Yorkshire while another failure will lead to more tough decisions.
Should Leeds achieve promotion, then 49ers Enterprises will be desperate to avoid the mistakes of previous owners but with last season’s promoted trio of Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton all looking set to come straight back down, survival looks to be getting harder each year. But Warnock believes one of his former sides would stand a decent chance of maintaining their top-flight status.
“It is getting harder,” he added of surviving in the top-flight. “The three teams coming up.... Sheffield United have a lot of good Championship players but probably Leeds, with the youngsters they’ve got like [Brenden] Aaronson and [Ethan] Ampadu, I think they've got more chance of staying up. And also, with the backing they get from the crowd, it's a fantastic atmosphere, and in the Premier League they’ll hold their own crowd-wise - it’s a hostile area for visitors.”