Sky Sports host predicts Leeds United v Birmingham score, shares verdict on Daniel Farke and Wayne Rooney
David Prutton has predicted that Leeds United will end their two-game winless run in the Championship when they face Birmingham City on Monday 1 January.
The Sky Sports presenter believes that the Whites will bounce back from their consecutive defeats to Preston and West Brom over the festive period when they welcome Wayne Rooney’s side to Elland Road, predicting Leeds will win 2-0.
Birmingham City come into this showdown having won only one of their last eight matches and Prutton has admitted that both Rooney and Leeds boss Daniel Farke have “work to do” to get their seasons back on track.
Writing in his Sky Sports Championship predictions (31 December) he said: “Leeds have slipped away at the wrong time. Two defeats in a row on the road just when Ipswich have dipped as well. Southampton are the main challengers for that spot now. Daniel Farke has work to do.
“As does Wayne Rooney. They ended 2023 with an underwhelming goalless draw against Bristol City, and he’ll want to get the new year going with a bang. But I think this is a Leeds win.”
Need to bounce back
Leeds United need to claim all three points in this clash and anything less will be viewed as an absolute disaster for Farke and the Whites’ automatic promotion hopes, especially after two disappointing performances around the Christmas period.
Southampton have leapfrogged the Whites into third place in the Championship and if anybody currently seems equipped to challenge the top two between now and the end of the campaign, it would be Russell Martin’s Saints.
Birmingham City have been nothing short of dire under the management of Rooney so far this season and while Leeds may be in some poor form themselves, they should have more than enough quality to claim all three points, especially in front of the Elland Road crowd.
These are the sorts of games that you simply have to win if you want to win automatic promotion to the Premier League, should Leeds slip up again, it may not only end their top-two hopes but could make them more likely to miss out on the top six altogether.
In other Leeds United news, Gary Rowett has admitted that he is “fed up” following a controversial call in the Whites clash with West Brom