Leeds United vs Tottenham Hotspur: Match Preview, Team News & Predictions
With just 90 minutes left on the clock, Leeds United and Tottenham Hotspur will battle it out at Elland Road on the final match day of the Premier League.
When the two teams face off on the 28th of May, both will require nothing but wins and other favorable results to win their respective dogfights.
The Whites, currently with 31 points, sit 19th, tied with Leicester City and two points behind 17th-placed Everton. They will have to revisit the first week of April to draw inspiration from what was their last win in the league – a 2-1 comeback over Nottingham Forest, who have secured their top-flight status.
Leeds have all the attributes of a relegation-threatened side. A manager axed at a crucial juncture of the season, blowing away leads cheaply, and failing to capitalize against big teams when the opportunity presented itself.
They must get it right on Sunday. Against a tricky Spurs side, with no clean sheets in any of their previous 13 matches, Sam Allardyce will have to pull a rabbit out of his hat to maintain his reputation as a relegation specialist.
Amidst all the odds that are against Leeds’ hope for survival, Spurs face an uphill tussle for a place in the Europa Conference League. Only one point separates them and Unai Emery’s Aston Villa, who host Brighton and Hove Albion.
While they have eight wins out of their last 10 matches against Leeds, Tottenham have also lost their final league game of the season once in the previous 12 seasons – a 5-1 shocker against Newcastle United in 2016.
Team News
Leeds United
If shipping three goals after initially taking the lead wasn’t enough distress for Leeds, they were dealt a double injury blow, with Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo struggling.
Ready to take the risks for the final push, Allardyce updated fans stating “Rodrigo took part in training today, Patrick we’ll give as long as we can before we make our final selection. I’ll gamble on anyone’s fitness if they want to play and if I think they can make a contribution to help us win the game.”
With that statement, it’s understood that Leeds’ top scorer Rodrigo (15 goals) will start upfront. Another boost is in the form of Junior Firpo, who returns post suspension.
While the likes of Stuart Dallas, Tyler Adams and Luis Sinisterra will have to helplessly watch from the sidelines, youngsters Wilfried Gnonto and Crysencio Summerville will take the onus of improving the Whites’ prowess in front of goal when it matters most.
Tottenham Hotspur
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg trained with the squad and could therefore feature at some point in the match.
The season has ended for Eric Dier (groin), Rodrigo Bentancur (ACL) and Hugo Lloris. The latter may already have played his final game in a Spurs shirt.
Elsewhere, Dejan Kulusevski and Son Heung-Min are likely to start up front alongside the ever-so-consistent Harry Kane.
Probable XI
Leeds United predicted line-up (4-2-3-1):
Robles; Ayling, Kristensen, Wober, Firpo; McKennie, Koch; Harrison, Aaronson, Summerville; Rodrigo
Tottenham Hotspur predicted line-up (4-4-2):
Forster; Porro, Sanchez, Lenglet, Davies; Son, Bissouma, Hojbjerg, Perisic; Kane, Kulusevski
Match Prediction
On one hand, Leeds could turn up against everything Tottenham throws at them, but their susceptibility to crosses and set pieces could backfire, especially with Kane lurking in their box.
They might scalp a point because the visitors are themselves rock bottom as far as their confidence levels are concerned, and that could effectively flush them back into the Championship.
Predicted score: Leeds United 1-1 Tottenham Hotspur
-Roy Akarshak
Twitter: @RoyAkarshak
Photo: Дмитрий Голубович. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license.