'I really do' - Graham Smyth singles out Leeds United's key man v Southampton
Which player could make the difference when Leeds United face Southampton in the Championship play-off final on Sunday afternoon?
Leeds United will hope their key players can play an integral role in guiding the Whites back to the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
After suffering relegation from the top flight last season, there was constant speculation suggesting several players could head for pastures new as the Whites looked to manage the financial damage inflicted by a difficult season in the elite. Although there were departures as the likes of Tyler Adams, Rodrigo and Robin Koch were allowed to leave in the aftermath of relegation, a number of Whites stars remained in situ at Elland Road and have shone brightly as Daniel Farke’s side narrowly missed out on automatic promotion.
However, a Premier League return remains a strong possibility after Norwich City were blown away with a 4-0 win in the second leg of the play-off semi-final after Ilia Gruev, Joel Piroe, Georgino Rutter and Crysencio Summerville all found the net on a night where the Whites famous old home was rocking.
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The win over the Canaries ensured Leeds will now have a third crack at claiming a first win of the season against Southampton after the Saints took the honours in their previous two meetings with a 3-1 win at St Marys in September and a 2-1 victory at Elland Road on the final day of the regular season. Russell Martin’s side are well known for their attractive style of play and have plenty of goalscoring threat - but the YEP’s Graham Smyth believes one of Leeds’ own attacking options could well make a real difference under the famous Wembley arch.
Speaking on the Inside Elland Road podcast ahead of the trip to Wembley, he said: “I think Rutter holds the key for Leeds, I really do. When he’s on, they’re an incredibly difficult team to play against, so much more dangerous in transition, and so much more likely to create in the final third. If I were Leeds, I would be trying to get him one-on-one with someone in the first few minutes to let him have a go at beating someone.
“If he does, you can see it being like the Norwich game. All he needed was that flick for Summerville, and then his next one-on-one duel and he skinned someone, that was it. I don’t want to say he was back but he was on the up again. He had his pecker up. He was a bit of a nightmare for Norwich. You would like to think he could be that nightmare against Southampton.”