Chris Sutton predicts result of Leeds United clash vs Arsenal
Chris Sutton expects to see more of what he’s already seen this season when Leeds take on Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday afternoon.
The Whites are winless in their last five and take on the league leaders at Elland Road this weekend, knowing they need to find results and soon to avoid another relegation battle.
But Sutton, writing in his BBC predictions column [13 October], has seen a pattern of Leeds starting games well before fading away and expects Arsenal’s attack to be too strong, predicting a 3-1 away win for the Gunners.
“As I said earlier, Leeds were superb for the first 45 minutes against Crystal Palace but they could not sustain it,” he said.
“This game might follow the same pattern, with Leeds putting so much into it early on, then being picked off later.
“However it plays out, I’m expecting Arsenal to win because they are absolutely buzzing at the moment.
“That confidence will be there because of their performance to beat Liverpool – I wasn’t too far off with my 4-1 prediction either – and they have got plenty of goals in their front three.
“If Leeds are as aggressive as I think they will be, there will be plenty of space for Gabriel Martinelli and Bukayo Saka to run in behind, and plenty of chances for Gabriel Jesus too.”
Ouch
If the pundits are noticing it, and the fans are noticing it, then it’s obviously a problem that the manager needs to address for the team.
A game against the league leaders is the last thing that Leeds will have wanted in their current run of form, but they need to find a way to get a result and the home crowd will be huge for them.
Leeds are so far undefeated at home this season and keeping that record intact will be a fantastic achievement for this side, especially with how good Arsenal have been.
They’ve also had a midweek game away in the Europa League, while the Whites have had a chance to fully prepare this week for their task at hand.
It won’t be easy, but Leeds should be confident that they will be able to get a positive result from this game and prove Sutton wrong, because it wouldn’t be the first time they’ve done that this season.
In other Leeds news, journalist tells MOT Leeds News exclusively about whether Willy Gnonto can help the side