Super Computer makes new Leeds United automatic promotion prediction after loss v Preston
Leeds United will likely miss out on automatic promotion to the Premier League this season to Leicester City and Ipswich Town, according to the Opta Analyst supercomputer.
The Analyst’s supercomputer provided an update promotion prediction on Wednesday (27 December) predicting how the remainder of the campaign will pan out following the Boxing Day clashes in the Championship.
Leeds were unable to build upon their crucial win over Ipswich Town when they travelled to Deepdale on Boxing Day, losing 2-1 to Ryan Lowe’s side and that has negatively impacted their chances of finishing in the Championship’s top two.
According to the supercomputer, Daniel Farke’s side finish in the automatic promotion places in 21.6 per cent of simulations, but when these simulations were last completed in November, the Whites placed in the top two in 26.3 per cent.
While they may now sit below Southampton in the Championship table, Leeds are more likely to finish in the top two than third-placed Southampton, with Russell Martin’s side only winning automatic promotion in 20.7 per cent of simulations.
Up against it
It would have been interesting to see where Leeds United sat in these supercomputer simulations following their win over Ipswich Town as it feels as though the Whites had a much better chance of an automatic return before their defeat to Preston.
So far this season it has felt as though Leeds have taken one step forward to then follow it with two backward. They haven’t been able to find that consistency that has made Ipswich and Leicester such a force at the top of the Championship.
One game doesn’t define a season and while the defeat to Preston was disappointing, there is still a lot of football to be played between now and the end of the campaign and plenty to be decided, but the Whites need to start winning games more consistently sooner rather than later.
Leicester City seem almost as good as already promoted after their exceptional start and Southampton are in the mix for that second-placed spot. Farke and his side are in a three-horse race for that second-place finish and they cannot let their standards slip now.
In other Leeds United news, an update has emerged on Sonny Perkins’ future following his Boxing Day snub at Oxford United