Michael Owen shares ‘horrific’ Leeds United verdict after Premier League relegation twist on Monday
Michael Owen doesn’t think Monday could have gone any worse for Leeds United after Everton and Nottingham Forest both won.
Everton won 5-1 away at Brighton while Forest beat bottom-of-the-table Southampton 4-3, with both teams moving out of the Premier League relegation zone and leaving Leeds in 19th.
Owen admits he’s fearful for both Leeds and Leicester, who are now 18th, after their defeats to Manchester City and Fulham respectively.
“Not a good day at all for Leeds or Leicester, horrific,” said Owen on Premier League Productions (8 May, 10:20pm, via HITC). “I look at those fixtures and points on the board are so important. There aren’t going to be many points, I feel, won out of those sets of fixtures.
“There are a lot of tough run-ins now. Only three games to go – the next two games for all the teams. I can hardly see any points.
“But the last game, for all of them, are probably where the points will be. It could be an absolute grandstand finish.”
Leeds are going down
The battle to avoid the drop looks certain to go down to the final day, but Leeds’ position does appear particularly precarious with a tricky run-in to come.
High-flying Newcastle United visit Elland Road on Saturday, 13 May, before Leeds travel to West Ham – who themselves aren’t mathematically safe from the drop – and then welcome Tottenham in their season finale.
It could be argued the Spurs fixture presents an easier opportunity to secure what would be a huge three points than the trip to the London Stadium to face a much-improved Hammers side, especially given the inconsistent form Tottenham have shown in recent weeks.
Interim boss Sam Allardyce is known for having defensively solid, rigid sides and Leeds will have to show a marked improvement in that department over the final three games as no side in the Premier League has a worse record than their 69 goals conceded.
But with only one win in their past eight top-flight games, six of which have ended in defeat, it is hard to imagine a turnaround significant enough to avoid dropping down into the second tier.
In other Leeds United news, Jamie Carragher has also shared his thoughts on Leeds’ bid to survive in the Premier League.