Paul Merson has claimed that the Leeds United players will be in ‘shock’ that they are still in a relegation battle, as he told Soccer Saturday on Sky Sports (23/04/22 at 2:05 pm).
The Sky pundit claimed that those inside Leeds would have relaxed thinking they were safe, but even he is surprised that there is a possibility they can still go down.
Jesse Marsch’s side are hovering five points above the Premier League’s bottom three ahead of their Monday night clash with Crystal Palace.
By the time they kick-off, Burnley have the chance to close that gap to just two points if they beat Wolves on Sunday – although they would have played a game extra.
Either way, with Leeds still yet to play three of the teams currently sitting in the top-four, Merson warned that it’s not over yet for the Whites in their relegation battle.
“It’s not over yet,” warned Merson. “I was quite shocked. Their fixtures, I look at Everton and I look at Burnley. If Burnley don’t win (v Wolves), then I don’t see them beating Watford (next week).
“But if they win tomorrow, then I think they beat Watford. Then, I think they can be back in a relegation battle, which quite shocks me and it will shock the players.
“They would have thought ‘oooh. It’s a relief.’. But, at least with this manager, I think he can go and get a result somewhere. Bielsa was just opening it up and taking a chance. They won’t go to Palace and open it up, will they?!”
It all depends on what Burnley do and whether the managerless club can go on a bit of a madness from now until the end of the season.
If they string a number of wins together, then those above them, including Everton, will start to worry.
But, in truth, for Leeds, their current tally of 33 points could be enough because Burnley could also easily crumble from now until the final ball is kicked in May.
Either way, if you are currently sitting outside of the danger zone, then you don’t want to take this battle to the final day, that’s for sure.
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