'Probably better' - Darren Bent makes bold claim involving Leeds United, Southampton and Leicester City
Leeds United are being widely tipped for automatic promotion following Monday’s win at Sheffield United.
Darren Bent believes Leeds United are ‘probably better’ than two of the Premier League’s current bottom three, with automatic promotion virtually secured in his opinion.
Daniel Farke’s side took a huge step towards securing their top-flight return following Monday’s 3-1 comeback win at Sheffield United. Their 15-game unbeaten streak was at risk of ending as the hour mark passed but three goals in the final 18 minutes from Junior Firpo, Ao Tanaka and Joel Piroe turned the game on its head in the blink of an eye.
Victory opened up a five-point gap between Leeds and Sheffield United, while third-placed Burnley now sit seven points behind the league leaders. And with only a dozen games left, Bent believes only complete collapse will stop the Whites from securing a top-two finish.
Promotion chances rated
“The game [vs Sheffield United] was fantastic, and that’s what I love about Championship football, you very rarely get a side thinking ‘actually let’s just try to hold on’,” Bent told talkSPORT. “They go for it and those two sides, who are two of the three best teams in the division, absolutely going for it. At one point I thought Sheffield United had it but for Leeds to get back…
“When Firpo scored the header, I thought ‘here we go’ and Leeds have a never say die attitude. Seven points ahead of third now, I think that might be it. Unless they fall off a cliff, they have 12 games left to go, they have a goal difference of +50 – unless they fall off a cliff, they’re up.”
Leeds have been tipped as promotion favourites all season and opposition managers have seemingly been at pains to stress how superior Farke’s side have been. Watford boss Tom Cleverley topped the lot earlier this month when comparing Farke’s side to a mid-table Premier League team following their 4-0 win at Vicarage Road.
Premier League survival verdict
The stark reality of Premier League survival has been laid bare this season with Leicester City, Southampton and Ipswich Town - the trio who pipped the Whites to promotion last season - currently in the bottom three and looking set to go straight back down. But Bent believes Leeds are big enough to recruit well and also suggested they are already better than some in the division above.
“They’re probably better than two of the bottom three [not Ipswich],” the former Sunderland and England striker added. “I always feel like it’s hard to compare on paper because you don’t know. When you get up there it’s whether you can handle it or you can’t.
“Only time will tell, because when they went up last time under [Marcelo] Bielsa, that first season they were absolutely brilliant. Either way, what Leeds are doing now… time will tell when they get back to the Premier League, are they equipped to deal with it? They're certainly a big side, they’ll certainly attract the players, they'll certainly get some good players in.”