Pundit outlines Leeds United Achilles' heel fear as Championship promotion race enters do or die phase

Coventry City might just have created a blueprint for how to beat Leeds United, former White Jon Newsome fears. Leeds saw their 15-game unbeaten run come to an end on Saturday as the Sky Blues won 2-1 to hand Daniel Farke's side their first league defeat of the calendar year.

That defeat was enough to see the Whites drop out of the top two and with just five games remaining, the pressure is mounting in the Championship promotion battle. Ultimately, Leeds were second best at the CBS Arena and they will have left the West Midlands with a few bumps and bruises after what was a physically imposing performance from Mark Robins' side.

Coventry made their presence felt and they were rewarded for it, just as the 10-men of Huddersfield Town were, who claimed a point against the Whites at the start of March. The same can be said for a host of other teams who have been physical with Leeds this season and while such an approach hasn't always yielded points, Newsome believes dealing with it has been a weakness for the Whites.

“There is a bit of a theme there," Newsome told BBC Radio Leeds when discussing the reason for Leeds' struggle against Coventry.

“Huddersfield away was only a few weeks ago – they were very physical, they stuck their foot in, they were in your faces and we really struggled to break them down and came away with a point.

“It’s part of the game that we probably need to have a look at because sides will pick up on it.”

Leeds have the chance to get back to winning ways this evening as they take on Sunderland at Elland Road and at this stage of the promotion race, nothing less than three points will do for Farke's side, who also host Blackburn Rovers on Saturday.