Gary Neville shares Leeds United and Everton relegation prediction in Premier League
Gary Neville believes that Leeds United, Everton and Crystal Palace are more “hardened” than their relegation rivals and ready for the impending race for Premier League survival.
The Whites’ 2-1 win against relegation rivals Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night (4 April) propelled them up the table to 13th position, but they remain just two points clear of the drop zone.
With under ten games of the 2022/23 Premier League season remaining, a mere seven points separates Southampton in 20th position from Crystal Palace in 12th, in a ridiculously packed bottom half of the table.
Speaking on The Overlap Live Tour, as shared on YouTube (4 April, 11:15), Neville admitted that Leeds United and Everton’s experience of dealing with relegation battles, which saw both clubs narrowly escape dropping into the Championship last season, would be crucial over the closing weeks of this campaign.
“Southampton, Bournemouth and I’ve said this for a few months and I watched them last weekend and I’m really worried about them, I feel for Nottingham Forest,” he said.
“I just feel a little bit all over the place and I feel worried about the lack of experience dealing with a relegation battle. I just feel like Leeds, Crystal Palace, Everton, Dyche – they’re a bit more hardened.”
On the up
Ever since Javi Gracia walked through the Elland Road gates, he has brought a sense of calm and leadership that seemed to be lacking before.
Although Leeds played some thoroughly entertaining football under Jesse Marsch, it sometimes reached calamitous levels, with defensive mishaps a weekly occurrence.
Before the Qatar World Cup, results such as the 3-2 defeat to Fulham, as well as the 4-3 loss to Spurs, underlined a certain naivety that was starting to grow at Elland Road.
However, the 2-1 win against Nottingham Forest on Tuesday highlighted a team with street smarts and a collection of players who had been there and done it before.
The likes of Patrick Bamford, Jack Harrison and Luke Ayling were all paramount in the last-gasp escape from the drop last season, and this experience does give the club a one-up on the likes of Nottingham Forest and Bournemouth.
With matches against Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Leicester City still awaiting over the last nine games of the season, fans should be hopeful that Gracia’s team have more than enough quality to pull away from the relegation zone.
In other Leeds United news, a teenager now looks closer than ever to his debut after what he did at Thorp Arch during the international break with Javi Gracia taking note.
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