Jobi McAnuff predicts ‘tough’ clash ahead of Leeds United v Ipswich
Jobi McAnuff has predicted a tough game between Leeds United and Ipswich with the hosts under pressure to close the gap between themselves and the top two.
The former Championship midfielder predicted a draw at Elland Road on 23 December but claimed Leeds will need a win to kickstart their push to put pressure on their opponents.
McAnuff also predicted that it would be a high-scoring fixture, with both sides capable of scoring plenty of goals with the attacking talent on show.
Speaking to Sky Sports [20 December], McAnuff shared: “I think if they’ve got any real hope of catching Ipswich and making up that ten-point deficit, there’s no better way to do that than beating their rivals that they’re going after.
“I think certainly when you’re looking at an opportunity to close that gap then you have to take them when they come.
“I think when you look at Leeds being that chasing team now there’s almost that extra pressure because you know you can’t afford to keep dropping those points, particularly when the lead is as big as it is.
“There’s certainly pressure on them, but it’s about how they respond and they need to get that win to really kickstart the effort to get into second place.
“Always a tough one, I’m going to go for a draw. I think it’ll be high scoring, I can certainly see goals. Both teams have great attacking options, but I just fancy that to be a draw and Ipswich to maintain the gap they’ve got at the moment.”
A hard-fought encounter
Leeds’ results have begun to slip in recent weeks, with a 1-0 defeat to Sunderland at the Stadium of Light followed by a 1-1 draw with Coventry at Elland Road, as Ipswich continue their good run to widen the gap between the top two and third-placed Leeds.
As McAnuff suggests, there will be plenty of pressure piling on the Yorkshire club with regard to their intentions to earn automatic promotion at the first time of asking, with the threat of a playoff place becoming more real with each passing game.
While we are yet to even enter the January transfer window, it’s not too dramatic to describe this clash as a must-win game for Daniel Farke’s side if they want to remain in contention for automatic promotion, although anything could change in the Championship.
After the 4-3 victory for Leeds in the reverse fixture, this could certainly be an entertaining affair, with both sides recognising the importance of taking all three points from their rivals.
In other Leeds United news, Jesse Marsch has hit out at Andrea Radrizzani after what he did at Leeds.