'They haven't' - What pundits are saying about Leeds United and the Premier League relegation battle

Leeds United were widely tipped to battle against relegation from the Premier League after securing their return to the top flight with a Championship title win last season.

The opening three months of the campaign had produced some mixed performances and results during the first three months of the season and there is no doubt Daniel Farke’s men were firmly in relegation trouble prior to their visit to Manchester City in late November. Although the Whites come out on the wrong side of a five-goal gave at the Etihad Stadium, a tactical tweak by Farke and a much improved second-half display have laid the foundations for a solid run of form that has raised hopes a second season in the Premier League is now within their grasp.

Since Phil Foden’s last-gasp strike condemned Leeds to a defeat against City, Farke’s men are unbeaten in their last seven games and that includes home and away fixtures with reigning champions Liverpool, a visit to in-form Sunderland and home games with Manchester United and Chelsea. By securing two wins and five draws, the Whites have moved eight points clear of the relegation zone and they will be full of confidence as they travel to St James Park to take on Newcastle United on Wednesday night.

There has been a wave of praise for Farke and his players following their upturn in form - but what is being said about the Whites’ prospects of avoid relegation and an immediate return to the Championship? We take a look at some of the comments made by pundits over the last two months.

What have pundits said about Leeds United’s battle against relegation?

Gary Neville

Speaking on his Sky Sports podcast, Neville said: “Everything seems toxic. What a club West Ham is, they’ve been down before, they’ll go down again, it may be this season. If they can drag Forest back down there; Leeds look really strong at the moment. They look like they’re going to pick up points through their togetherness, physicality. You’re going to have to drag a couple down with you if you’re West Ham, you’ll have to bring a couple back. What you can’t do is become cut adrift. Wolves and Burnley will really struggle, no chance. If West Ham can do some business, they have a manager who has done this before. Tuesday is the start of that.”

Jamie Carragher

The Liverpool legend assessed Daniel Farke’s change of system on Monday Night Football last month. He said: “When you go to a three at the back system, what that does give you, it should improve you at set-pieces, Three big centre-backs and especially when one of the front two is Calvert-Lewin. Then early on in the game against Chelsea, the next game, the man who comes on as a substitute at half-time [vs Manchester City], Bijol, gets a goal from a set-piece and they're in business straight away. Elland Road is bouncing.”

“Maybe Leeds fans were calling for this a bit more, to be a bit more direct over these last few weeks when you consider how many 6ft players they brought in over the summer. We’re not saying that going to 3-5-2 means all of Leeds’ problems are finished. They’re going to lose games, they’re going to find it difficult, they haven't got the quality of other teams. But as I said, he makes changes again and we see that impact.”

Chris Sutton

Speaking on BBC 5Live, the former Celtic star said: “The run that they’ve been on has been sensational. Dominic Calvert-Lewin has been a big part of that, even going to Anfield and getting a draw. You look more solid at the back, but I’m absolutely delighted for Daniel Farke. I really, really am. I thought that was difficult for him coming into the Premier League with all the pressure, and people saying he can’t manage in the Premier League. I’ve spoken before about the squads he had at Norwich. He didn’t have any chance, but I’m really pleased for him.”

Danny Murphy

Speaking ahead of the Whites’ seven-game unbeaten run, Murphy said on Match of the Day: “In the last couple of games, the level of performance has been good. The players are playing for him and they’ve been in a lot of games. They’ve lost points late in games, it’s four or five points they’ve lost after the 90th minute. I think if the fans are a bit more patient, or stick with him longer, this team will get better. I know they’ve got some tough fixtures coming up but they can take a lot of heart from that second-half performance.”

Tim Sherwood

Speaking in late November, the former Premier League title winner told Sky Sports: “I think Leeds and Burnley, it's going to be a struggle. I'm not saying I'm 100% sure, but I think they might change places with West Ham and Nottingham Forest. [At the start of the season] I didn't stick my neck out too far. I said the teams that came up will go down. They did for the previous two seasons. If you wanted me to put my neck on the line now I would say that Wolves will go down with Burnley and Leeds."

Micah Richards

Speaking after the draw at Sunderland, Richards said: “I think it has been magnificent, if you look at the games, the Chelsea, Liverpool, Brentford, the Palace, you’re thinking on paper, if you get a few draws, maybe one win, you have done your job. To go through that and get the amount of points that Leeds have, when everyone wrote them off, and I think it was because Dominic Calvert-Lewin wasn’t scoring, now he is taking them chances. With Leeds, I don’t like the way everyone just talks about them like they are a set-piece team, and they are hard to beat, yes, they were hard to beat tonight, but they also can play with an energy.”

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