Rio Ferdinand makes Leeds United relegation prediction after win v Wolves
Rio Ferdinand believes Leeds United will be able to avoid relegation this season, as he made his picks for who will face the drop on Vibe with Five.
The Whites opened their campaign with a 2-1 home win over Wolves at Elland Road, with goals from Rodrigo and an own goal by Rayan Ait-Nouri enough to secure a comeback and three points.
After the opening weekend Ferdinand was discussing the teams he expected to go down and named the three promoted sides as his picks for the drop, adding in that he felt Leeds were strong enough to avoid it if they’re in the mix.
“Bournemouth are my certs [to get relegated],” he said. “I have all the three teams that came up.
“I know that sounds lazy. I like Cooper, but it’ll be interesting to see how he integrates that many new signings. They’ve gone mental. They’ve gone mad.
After his co-host suggested Leeds could be in trouble, Ferdinand agreed they’d be in the mix but expected them to avoid the drop.
“They won at the weekend. I agree [they’ll have enough to stay up], but I think Forest go down.”
Depth
One thing Leeds really struggled with last season was their injuries and the lack of depth they had within the first-team squad.
That’s been addressed this summer with two major outgoings in Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips, but seven signings coming in and more to come according to manager Jesse Marsch.
The team have abandoned the “murder ball” that made Marcelo Bielsa so famous and have gone with a more traditional approach, which should in turn see less injuries and better performance.
Add to that the strengthening that has happened in the transfer market with the additions of players like Luis Sinisterra, Marc Roca and Brenden Aaronson then you’d expect them to be strong enough to improve on last season.
Fans may dislike him, but Ferdinand is right that we should be good enough to avoid getting ourselves into trouble again like last season and it would take a disaster to see us go down come May.