Richard Keys predicts Championship top two after Leeds United and Southampton results
Richard Keys has questioned if Southampton supporters should now be “worried” after their side’s latest defeat, coupled with a victory for Leeds United.
Leeds ramped up the pressure on automatic promotion rivals Southampton and Ipswich Town with a 3-1 win over leaders Leicester City on Friday (23 February).
Ipswich responded with a 3-1 victory against Birmingham City, but the Saints went down 2-1 at home to Millwall elsewhere on Saturday (24 February) to fall five points adrift.
Speaking on beIN Sports [24 February, 5:25pm], Keys asked co-host Andy Gray said: “The top two are going to be the top two, aren’t they? Are you worried if you’re a Southampton fan?”
Gray responded: “They’ll have to make do over a play-off place and find some form.”
Southampton lose ground to Leeds and Ipswich
There are far too many games remaining in the Championship this season for this to be considered a decisive weekend one way or another.
Southampton were in superb form not so long ago and looked destined to join Leicester in the Premier League without going through the play-offs.
However, they have since lost three of their last four matches, with the loss to lowly Millwall on home soil a particular blow for Russell Martin and his side.
In the meantime, Leeds have racked up nine victories on the spin to climb into the top two. Ipswich, to their credit, have recovered from a wobble and are level with the Whites on 72 points after 34 matches.
All it takes is one bad result for Leeds, though, such as a defeat to Huddersfield Town next weekend – as unlikely as that sounds – and all of a sudden the picture has changed again.
And it is worth noting in all this that Southampton travel to Elland Road on the final day. Even now, with 11 games to come before then, you just know that game will have something riding on it.
In other Leeds United news, Patrick Bamford made an “idiot” admission after what happened late on in the win against Leicester.
For more Leeds news, follow us on Facebook or join our brand new WhatsApp Channel for instant updates to be sent straight to your phone.