Don Goodman feels Coventry City will be the toughest challenge for Leeds United in their bid for automatic promotion to the Premier League.
Daniel Farke’s side leads the Championship with eight games to go, but Leicester City is level on points and has a game in hand in a thrilling promotion race.
Ipswich Town are only one point behind, while Southampton in fourth are nine points back with two games in hand.
Southampton visit Elland Road on the penultimate day of the season, but Goodman believes a trip to Coventry on April 6th might also be pivotal.
“Looking at the remaining fixtures, they have Southampton on the last day. “They’d much rather have closed the deal before playing that one,” Goodman told MOT Leeds News.
“The other one that stands out is Coventry City, who are a good squad trying hard to make the top six.
“Then there’s Hull City and a Middlesbrough team that’s finding its form. Can they go undefeated? Of course, they can.
“Would it surprise you if they lost one of those, or at least dropped points? No, it wouldn’t; that is the nature of the Championship.”
Leeds United’s remaining Championship matchups.
Leeds have gone unbeaten in 13 league games since the turn of the year, winning all but one of them in a fantastic run of success.
Farke’s team deserves a lot of credit for turning things around from being badly down at the end of December to sitting at the top of the pile.
From here on out, they have complete control. If they finish the season perfectly, they will be promoted back to the Premier League automatically.
Winning each of the final eight games, however, will be incredibly difficult. At the same time, Leicester, Ipswich, and Southampton will shed more points.
This will all come down to who can keep their nerve the best in the final stretch. Leeds’ home form has been outstanding this season, and the next games, including Southampton, should be easy to handle.
The away games against Watford, Coventry, and Middlesbrough will present a different type of challenge, but there is no reason why United cannot remain top of the division at the end of this run.
The hard work is done, and all that remains is to outperform every other squad in the chasing pack.
