Phil Hay reveals ‘absolute key’ for Leeds United in Southampton playoff final
Phil Hay believes Leeds United’s pressing could be the “absolute key” against Southampton.
Leeds will square off with the Saints at Wembley in the Championship play-off final on Sunday (26 May).
With a place in the Premier League up for grabs, Hay has touched on what could be the defining factor in the game while speaking on The Square Ball podcast (25 May).
Hay said: “The whole thing just looks evenly matched, and I do wonder whether for Leeds the absolute key to this is going to be the quality of their pressing against Southampton.
“You know what Southampton are going to do.
“They’re going to hold it deep in the way that they do, they’re going to pass it around and they’re going to tempt Leeds to pounce, to try and press, to try and nick the ball, and then they’ll try and play through them.
“If Leeds get that right and it works, then automatically they have an advantage. If they get it wrong and it doesn’t work, it becomes a very difficult game quite quickly.”
Daniel Farke will be desperate to guide Leeds United back to the Premier League
Both clubs are looking to return to England’s top flight at the first time of asking, and both clubs would have been keen to do it via the automatic spots.
However, missing out on a top-two spot proved to be a more devastating blow for the Whites as they finished third, six points behind Ipswich Town in second, while Southampton finished three points behind in fourth.
On paper, Leeds will therefore feel as if they are the better team.
But the Saints did beat Daniel Farke’s side both home and away during the season, and they will take plenty of confidence from that into the showpiece clash at Wembley.
Ultimately, with all the talk of pressing, league positions and previous results, it will come down to which set of players can hold their nerve, with very little to separate the two sides.
This is one of the biggest games in English football, and all eyes in West Yorkshire and southern England will be firmly fixed on London come Sunday.
In other Leeds United news, the club will have an Archie Gray decision on their hands if they fail to secure promotion to the Premier League.
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