According to Phil Hay, Leeds United might suddenly find themselves in the “incredibly weird scenario” of being level on points with fourth-placed Southampton the next time they play.
The Athletic journalist claimed on The Square Ball episode on 15 April that after the Whites were defeated at home by Blackburn Rovers on Saturday (13 April), the Saints will play twice before Daniel Farke’s side return to the Riverside next Monday (22 April).
Russell Martin’s side appeared to be falling behind the top three until recently, but with two games in hand on Leeds and Ipswich, and one on Leicester, they could be right back in the mix after all of the leading pack began to falter, with Southampton facing Preston North End on Tuesday (16 April) before travelling to Cardiff at the weekend.
Hay stated (23m 15s): “We might have the extremely strange scenario of Leeds coming to Middlesbrough with Southampton level on points with them, and you just wonder, ‘How on earth can that happen?’
“And strangely, I believe it was only last week that Farke said, ‘I don’t think Southampton are completely out of this,’ and looking at the gap, it’s difficult to see how that’s going to happen.
“But then someone in the press conference asked him, ‘In that case, you must expect that somebody in the top three, or a couple of clubs, will either collapse or find it very difficult to get points on the board?'” And this is exactly what happened.
“I don’t think Southampton have in any way been incredible either in their performances or their results, it’s just that what’s going on above them is not great at the moment.”
Leeds United, Leicester and Ipswich are staring over their shoulders.
After appearing to be battling it out to end with record points totals, it appears like the Whites, Foxes, and Blues are too afraid to seize the initiative at the top of the promotion fight.
After Farke led Leeds United on a two-month winning streak in the Championship in January and February to reclaim the title fight, it appeared like promotion was almost a given, especially heading into the international break after taking 10 points from 12 in March.
However, the deficit appears to have disrupted the momentum, and the strain is visibly affecting the top teams.
Patrick Bamford’s scoring form has suddenly dwindled, Junior Firpo’s burst of assists is a thing of the past, injuries have forced Farke to change his options, and the midfield’s lack of goals is being highlighted as an issue, as it is now one point from nine with only one goal scored.
While it appears like the wheels have gone off, the margins are still so close that if a tedious goalless draw with Sunderland had resulted in a clear penalty for a foul and a handball on Joe Rodon and despatched, the Whites would be first rather than third.
In that environment, having Southampton and Leeds back up would leave two of the four teams facing the disappointment of being relegated to the playoffs.
And, while it had begun to appear insignificant, the final-day battle with the Saints at Elland Road is once again emerging as a major event.
