Paul Merson predicts Leeds United vs Brighton result, names trend that should worry Elland Road fans
Paul Merson has predicted a heavy Leeds United defeat to Brighton at the weekend and has shared his worries about the club’s form.
Javi Gracia won his first game in charge against Southampton on 25 February but the team has failed to score in their two games since, and Merson believes Whites fans should be concerned that the club are getting beaten even when playing well.
In contrast, Brighton are pushing for European qualification and hammered West Ham 4-0 last weekend (4 March), so Merson has confidently predicted they will win again at Elland Road on Saturday (11 March) and has gone for a scoreline of 3-0.
In his Thursday predictions column for Sportskeeda Merson said: “It’s a massive game for Leeds United. They’re playing okay but they keep losing matches. Sometimes teams play poorly and get beaten. This Leeds team is playing alright but they’re still getting beaten and that would worry me if I was their fan.
“Brighton are a very good team and they are playing really good football. Even when they got beaten by Fulham a few weeks ago, they dominated the game. I’d be shocked if Brighton don’t get the win here against Leeds.”
Not time to panic, yet
The Whites board gave Gracia a hospital pass of an appointment when they turned to him in a flap, and his work permit was only cleared the day before the first of three games in eight days.
Three points from six in the league is no mean feat for a Leeds United boss in the past four months, but a heavy defeat at home to Brighton would start to ramp up the pressure.
This is the first time the new boss has had a decent amount of preparation time for a match, and with Rodrigo possibly back from injury [Phil Hay, 9 March] there is room for optimism despite Brighton’s impressive season.
There is currently plenty of time to get the points necessary to reach safety, but a comprehensive defeat without scoring a goal isn’t going to do a great deal of good for morale, among the supporters if not the squad.
An early goal would be lift a huge amount of pressure, and with the Elland Road crowd roaring them on could spur the Whites to an upset victory.
Even in defeat a couple of strikes would be a positive development ahead of a 18 March trip to Wolves, where Jesse Marsch picked up one of his vital mad-cap wins last season.
All possibilities are on the table when Roberto De Zerbi arrives with his squad, and the relegation battle is not going to be won or lost in this game, but it could give some strong indications for how the Gracia era is going to pan out.
In other Leeds United news, Phil Hay expects there to be an imminent departure behind the scenes at Elland Road.
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