Why Michael O'Neill believes Elland Road will be ferocious even without Leeds United fans

Stoke City take on Leeds United at Elland Road this evening
Stoke City manager Michael O'Neill. (Getty)Stoke City manager Michael O'Neill. (Getty)
Stoke City manager Michael O'Neill. (Getty)

Stoke City head coach Michael O'Neill believes Elland Road will be a ferocious place to play tonight even without supporters in attendance.

The Potters travel to West Yorkshire in Championship action with the game being played behind closed doors amid the coronavirus pandemic.

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City enter the fixture just a point above the relegation zone but will be buoyed by a vital 4-0 win over fellow strugglers Barnsley on Saturday afternoon.

Leeds meanwhile are under pressure to deliver three points following wins for Brentford and West Bromwich Albion in midweek.

The Bees now sit just three points behind the Whites in third as the race for promotion continues while the Baggies leapfrogged United into top spot.

O'Neill, though, says he is still expecting an extremely tough test in LS11 this evening despite the absence of the home crowd.

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“It probably does help," he told the Stoke Sentinel over games being played behind closed doors.

"The team that suffers most is probably the home team. In this situation we’ve missed playing at home in front of our fans and I think that’s been a big factor in the games post-lockdown. It’s been a real leveller.

“Leeds, with the prize they’re playing for, would have a ferocious crowd there and we won’t have to deal with that.

“But we’ll still have to deal with a ferocious team in terms of how they’ll play.

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“We can go, however, into the game with good confidence and believe we can go there and get a result.”

O’Neill added: “I don’t think you’re going to beat Leeds away in a high scoring game, we’re going to have to be tight, have to be difficult to beat and equally maximise the opportunities we have as well.

“Leeds have been dominant in all their home games this season. It doesn’t mean they’ve always won those games but they have been the dominant team and we have to be prepared for that.

“Not having the ball for long periods of the game doesn’t mean we can’t get a positive result. We’ve proven that. West Brom away was a perfect example of that and a performance of that nature will be something we aim for again.”