Chris Sutton expects Leeds United to bore him as they fail with plan at West Ham United
Chris Sutton has not only predicted a goalless draw when Leeds United take on West Ham in the first of their crucial two remaining fixtures, but for it to be boring.
Sam Allardyce has a trip to the capital and a visit from an inconsistent Tottenham side at his disposal to pull off an unlikely escape from relegation, after gaining a point against Newcastle a week ago (13 May).
But Sutton feels the Whites won’t be able to execute a counter-attacking plan and the game will fizzle out in a “bore draw” which won’t be of much use in the fight against relegation if results elsewhere go against them.
In his Daily Mail predictions column the pundit said: “Leeds have won two away games this season and will sit back here to try to nick a late goal. I don’t think it will work and can see a bore draw.”
Unlikely
Of all the accusations that can be levelled at Leeds United this season, playing out boring goalless draws isn’t usually one of them.
Unfortunately for the fans there has been far too much entertainment on show at times, but often for the opposition supporters.
Even in a much-improved performance at Elland Road last week in fighting back for a 2-2 draw against high-flying Newcastle it was only achieved via a missed penalty, two conceded and a Junior Firpo red card.
The left-back being suspended will remove one agent of chaos from the line up, but when it comes to the Whites’ defence there is nearly always somebody willing to step into that role.
Tightening up at the back is certainly going to be part of Allardyce’s plan vs the Hammers but now isn’t the time to become conservative as his players don’t seem to have that in their repertoire.
With West Ham coming in off the back of their exhilarating midweek exploits in the Netherlands where they reached the Europa Conference League final, taking advantage of any lull and going at them in attack is perhaps the best course of action.
Allowing them to get comfortable in front of a now-buoyant set of home fans sounds like a recipe for disaster, so while it is obviously important to at the very least keep the fight alive until the final day it is not the time to let a crucial fixture slide by without event.
In other Leeds United news, Allardyce has made an admission about his players’ fitness and handed them two days off ahead of the game.