The third to last set of matches in the Championship end with one of the biggest games of the season on Thursday afternoon when Leeds United host Barnsley in a Yorkshire derby at Elland Road which sees top of the table facing the bottom of it.
Both teams are desperate for the points from this encounter so we should be guaranteed an even more competitive match than we would normally have got, even allowing for the fact that these are two proud Yorkshire outfits battling it out.
Where to watch
The entire match will be shown live on the Sky Football channel. The build up to the game begins at 4.30pm and the match itself kicks off at 5pm UK time.
Leeds United
It has been a long time in coming but the numbers are now simple for Leeds United. If they can take four points from their final three matches they will be playing Premier League football again next season. That would be a worthy reward for a team who are the best in the Championship this term, and who have shown that in more than occasional spells since the restart of the campaign. They must be approaching this match as a great chance of bagging three of those four required points.
It isn’t always spoken about given how pleasing on the eye the Whites are, but they have the best defence in the division this season, led by the amazingly impressive Ben White, but they are certainly not short of goals, as we saw last week when they put five past Stoke City in front of the TV cameras. What Leeds cannot afford to do is think back to last season when they were in a good position but failed to get over the line. Anxiety caught up with them then so it might be beneficial that there are no crowds right now.
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Barnsley
We are entering do or die time for Barnsley. It is now easy to completely judge the bottom of the table because there is a growing sense that this season is going to end up being decided in courtrooms up and down the land, but of what we know for certain is that barring points deductions up above, the Tykes are four points from safety, effectively five given their weak goal difference, with three matches left to play.
To be fair to Barnsley, although they sit bottom of the table, they have performed creditably since lockdown, losing just one of their six matches in a disappointing display at Stoke City. They have picked up two wins and three draws in the other five outings but you sense the time for draws have been and gone. With Brentford and Nottingham Forest to come, it is going to be very difficult for Barnsley to survive by rights but the least they can do is give it a right good go.
Team News
Leeds United will be without their talismanic midfielder Kalvin Phillips who misses out with injury. Gaetano Berardi is expected to come in for him with Ben White moving into midfield. Kiko Casilla is now available after his lengthy suspension but Marcelo Bielsa wouldn’t commit to who will start between the sticks.
Barnsley boss Gerhard Struber has confirmed that attacker Elliot Simoes will miss this match which is a huge blow for the Tykes. Romal Palmer has already been ruled out for the remainder of the season. Aapo Hulme will be hoping to start.
Betting
This could well be a squeaky bum time for both sides. I’m not convinced that this is going to be overflowing with goals I must admit. Leeds have only conceded four goals in their last 11 matches either side of lockdown while since the restart Barnsley have kept four clean sheets in their six outings. One issue for the visitors though has been a lack of goals. They have only scored four in those six games and if they are to survive that has to change.
I expect Leeds to win here. Barnsley won’t go down without a fight but they lack the quality that Leeds have in all areas of the pitch and eventually I expect that class to tell. Whether it is early on or in the second half when Pablo Hernandez enters the fray like on Sunday remains to be seen but eventually I’m expecting Leeds to win but unlike last week when they thrashed Stoke 5-0, I don’t see this one being full of goals. Therefore a Leeds win and under 3.5 goals looks the way to attack this one.
Tips
Back Leeds to win and under 3.5 goals for a 3/10 stake at 2.10 with Betway
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