Leeds United’s rivals ‘too good’ for relegation as pundit makes disappointing Brighton prediction

Leeds United are back in action tomorrow afternoon as they host Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League. The Whites could go three points clear of the relegation zone with a win on home soil.

The Yorkshire outfit have only beaten Brighton once in their last 12 meetings and have failed to come out victorious since being promoted to the top flight. Their last win came in the Championship in 2017, with Chris Wood netting a brace in a side that featured the likes of Pablo Hernandez and Ronaldo Vieira.

Here the latest headlines ahead of this weekend’s match...

Michail Antonio makes West Ham claim

West Ham’s Michail Antonio has revealed that he believes West Ham are ‘too good to go down’ after a disappointing season that has left them hovering above the relegation zone. The Irons currently sit one place ahead of Leeds United in the Premier League table.

West Ham have only won two of their last ten league games and were most recently thrashed 4-0 by Brighton - though their own 4-0 win over Nottingham Forest came the previous week. David Moyes’ side have fixtures against the likes of Southampton, Bournemouth and Aston Villa coming up and the club will be expecting to take maximum points as they look to avoid the drop.

Speaking on the Footballer’s Football podcast, Antonio said: “We have never thought we will go down, during the whole course of this season, during the bad periods and we have never once thought we will be going down.

“We definitely know that we are too good to go down. We are too good to go down, off the back of the last two seasons we have had, we have shown the quality that we have. We haven’t lost many players from that squad either, so we still have that quality that we have played with from the last two years, so it shows we have the quality to do better - and we will do better.”

Leeds claimed a point against West Ham in January and will face them in what could be a vital six-pointer in the penultimate game of the season in a couple of months.

BBC Sport predictions

BBC Sport’s Chris Sutton has made a disappointing prediction ahead of Leeds United’s clash with Brighton this weekend. The former Celtic striker has claimed the Whites will struggle against a side that ‘are not fazed by anyone’.

Writing in his BBC column, Sutton said: “They [Leeds] are absolutely desperate for a win here but their problem is that they are facing a Brighton side who are not fazed by anyone.

“The Seagulls open teams up and play with a wonderful freedom - they have clicked so many times already this season that they actually have a good chance of making the top four. They don’t seem to fear anyone.

“Leeds will have the backing of the Elland Road crowd, but they are going to have to show great intensity just to keep this one close.”

Brighton currently sit 8th in the table and are only seven points from a top-four spot with three games in hand over Tottenham Hotspur. They are also unbeaten away from home in the top flight since defeat to Man City in October.