The Match of the Day pundits discussed Leeds United, Sunderland and Burnley's chances of avoiding relegation this season.
Alan Shearer and Micah Richards have agreed on what can ‘make the difference’ for Leeds United, Sunderland and Burnley as the newly promoted trio look to avoid relegation from the Premier League this season.
The Black Cats kickstarted their own return to the top flight in some style last weekend with a dominant 3-0 win against West Ham United at the Stadium of Light and that was followed by a memorable night at Elland Road as Leeds earned an opening win of the campaign as Lukas Nmecha got the only goal of a narrow victory against Everton. Of the newly promoted clubs, only Burnley emerged pointless from the first game of the season as they fell to a defeat at Tottenham Hotspur.
However, Scott Parker’s men did rack up their first maximum since securing promotion and inflicted a blow on a potential relegation rival as Jaidon Anthony and Josh Cullen both scored in Saturday’s home win against Sunderland. That victory came just hours before Leeds were condemned to a heavy 5-0 defeat at title contenders Arsenal as braces from Jurrien Timber and Viktor Gyokeres and a Bukayo Saka strike helped the Gunners to a comfortable win on home soil.
With the first week of the Premier League season now behind them, Shearer and Richards agreed that the results during the opening two games of the campaign point to one decisive factor that can help Leeds, Burnley and Sunderland extend their top flight stay beyond a solitary season.
What did Alan Shearer and Micah Richards say about the Premier League relegation battle?
Match of the Day pundit Shearer was impressed by Cullen's display for Burnley (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)placeholder image
Match of the Day pundit Shearer was impressed by Cullen's display for Burnley (Photo by Michael Regan/Getty Images)
Speaking on BBC Match of the Day on Saturday night, the former England captain said: “It was a really impressive performance from Burnley, they had to win, they knew that even though it is early in the season and when they had to sit deep and protect it was him (Josh Cullen) that was getting those vital tackles in. You can see what it means to him and his manager Scott Parker so it was really an impressive performance and they weren’t beaten there (Turf Moor) last season and that, like the other two teams that were promoted, their home form is going to be key to whether they can stay in this league or not. That performance from Leeds won’t determine whether they stay up, their home form, like Burnley, like Sunderland, the atmosphere those stadiums generate, that will be key to whether they can stay up or not.”
Former Manchester City defender Richards replied: “I think it can (home form) make the difference because teams are adapting, they aren’t all trying to play a certain style of play. I think Sunderland’s first home game mixed it up a little bit, you know Leeds at Elland Road is always going to be frantic but Burnley today, with a lot of pressure going into that game with how they will deal with it, yes they conceded a few chances, but they dug deep and they got the result in the end. They have to make sure the home form is good enough, that is what will keep these teams in the league.”
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