David O’Leary drops ‘vital’ Leeds United claim live on talkSPORT
David O’Leary has suggested the upcoming fixtures against Nottingham Forest and Crystal Palace are “vital” for Leeds United.
The Whites head to Arsenal on Saturday (1 April) looking to build on their impressive 4-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux.
Leeds’ former boss has claimed their Premier League status will depend on the back-to-back home matches.
“Leaving this game against Arsenal, I think they have two big games coming up, one on Tuesday against Forest and another one next Sunday against Palace,” said O’Leary (talkSPORT Breakfast, 08:54, 31 March).
“They’re two vital games and will decide a lot of things on whether they’ll stay up or not.”
Huge
The game against Arsenal is a free hit for Leeds. Nobody expects them to go to North London and pick up anything. Heading to The Emirates and being defensively resolute for as long as possible must be the goal for Javi Gracia’s side.
Realistically, the chances of a result are slim, with the home fixtures against Forest and Palace representing a golden opportunity for Leeds to pull themselves away from the bottom three. Elland Road can be a tough place for visiting teams to visit and if Gracia’s men can produce a performance to match the atmosphere, they stand a good chance of picking up six points.
With there being so many teams entrenched in the battle to beat the drop to the Championship, a run of wins could see Leeds firmly out of the relegation equation. The Whites will be without Willy Gnonto for the trip to Arsenal but will be hoping the Italian will be fit for the fixture against Forest on Tuesday (4 April).
In other Leeds United news, Victor Orta could be set for a shock departure this summer after his recent interview comments.
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