Leeds United are looking to secure promotion to the Premier League at the second time of asking but may struggle if one thing happens.
It’s been a largely positive season for Leeds United, but cracks have begun to show in the last couple of weeks.
Daniel Farke’s record is incredible, but the Whites are still locked in a very tight battle for an automatic promotion place.
Leeds drew 2-2 with QPR in their last fixture, allowing Sheffield United to go level on points with them and Burnley, who beat Swansea City, to move with just two points of the top two.
During the international break, Leeds have been predicted to win the Championship by one supercomputer.
However, the Peacocks are still in danger of dropping out of the top two and potentially having to compete in the Championship play-offs.
Photo by Harry Murphy/Getty Images
Photo by Harry Murphy/Getty Images
Leeds won’t be confident if they compete in Championship play-offs
Farke’s men had a similar issue in 2023/24, looking nailed on to finish first or second before a dire April saw them end up having to battle for promotion in the play-offs, with Leicester City and Ipswich Town instead going up automatically.
Leeds went on to lose to Southampton in the play-offs and will be desperate to avoid the same thing happening again this season.
Now, speaking on BBC Sport’s Football Daily: 72+: The EFL Podcast, Jobi McAnuff has explained why the Yorkshire outfit will be ‘the least confident’ of getting promoted if they have to compete in the play-offs, pointing toward their history.
He said: “Leeds need to start this next little run of games with a really, really good win and a good performance because I just feel the nerves are starting to creep in around Elland Road.
“I think you look at their history, obviously last season in particular, should have got the job done and had a terrible April, which really in the end, is what did for their chances of automatic, and also where I think is really, really important for them, they will be the least confident going into the play-offs, I believe, given their history in the play-offs have been out there the whole season.”
McAnuff went on to explain that while the atmosphere at Elland Road can be great, it can also be a negative when the pressure is on.
He added: “And the fans, I’m talking about the fans, this is now not about who the best team is anymore this is about who handles pressure who handles those big moments, and we’ve seen that Elland Road, when that tension just starts cranking up, as much as it could be a great when it’s going well, it can be a real difficult thing to control when it isn’t.
“So I think for them, they’re the team that needs to come out with break with a really, really strong winning performance.”
Throughout their history, Leeds have competed in the play-offs on six occasions.
And, unsurprisingly, they have lost in all six attempts, first doing so all the way back in 1987 against Charlton Athletic.