Leeds United and Aston Villa currently occupy a play-off spot.
Pundit Ben Parker has warned Leeds United that their Championship game against Aston Villa on the penultimate day of the season is now going to be a ‘tricky’ fixture.
The former Elland Road player admitted that a few weeks ago he felt that they could have earned promotion at home to Dean Smith’s side because it was looking like they had ‘nothing’ to play for.
However, the return of Jack Grealish has resulted in them winning four games on the bounce and shooting up to sixth in the table and sparking their season back to life.
Speaking to LS11’s official YouTube Channel, Parker urged the Whites to ’embrace’ what is going to be a nerve-wracking end to the season, which includes a mouth-watering tie against Villa.
“Probably two weeks ago, three weeks ago tops, I was looking at all the fixtures,” Parker told LS11. “We can get promoted at home against Aston Villa, they’ll have nothing to play for, they’ll be about mid-table’.
“But now, they are in the play-offs. They’ll probably have something to play for, so that makes it a tricky game – it’s going to be an enjoyable run-in. Embrace it.”
During their reverse fixture against Villa in December, Marcelo Bielsa’s side came from 2-0 down to snatch a 3-2 win, with striker Kemar Roofe netting a last-minute winner.
The Elland Road faithful will be hoping their team can secure points any which way possible until the end of the season because it will enhance their chances of promotion.
At this moment in time, they are third in the table, one-point behind Sheffield United and a further five points behind leaders Norwich City.
If Leeds and Villa remain in their current position then they will both meet in the semi-finals of the play-offs – the Midlands outfit were beaten by Fulham in the play-off final last May.
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