Former Manchester United stars Roy Keane and Gary Neville are now united in their worrying verdict on Leeds United’s Premier League survival hopes.
Daniel Farke needs to change the direction of travel at Leeds, having watched his side slip to four Premier League defeats in their last five games.
The most recent defeat against Nottingham Forest was particularly concerning, as the Whites meekly surrendered to a 3-1 loss.
Former Leeds defender Jon Newsome accused Daniel Farke of burying his head in the sand after the game, as his side were repeatedly opened up at the back and looked toothless in attack for long stretches of the game.
Now, Roy Keane and Gary Neville have rubbed salt in the wounds ahead of the crucial game against Aston Villa, predicting that Leeds will now be relegated this season.
Do you think Leeds will be relegated this season? Former Manchester United legends predict that Leeds United will be relegated
Speaking on the Overlap’s Stick to Football podcast, Keane delivered the verdict that no Leeds fan wanted to hear after their loss against Forest.
Branding Leeds’ performance as dreadful, with Lukas Nmecha scoring the only goal of the game, Keane explained that he now believes Leeds are destined to be relegated.
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“Leeds were so bad against Forest, weren’t they?” Keane said. “Leeds are going down, yeah. They were dreadful against Forest.”
According to Neville, he has been convinced that Leeds would go down from the first game of the season against Everton, despite Farke’s side claiming a win on that occasion.
Neville added: “I said Leeds were going down after watching them win the first game of the season, even though they’d beat Everton. I thought, it’s not right, that. Everton were shocking that night.”
Leeds United need to end winless run against top-half Premier League sides
If Leeds are able to prove Neville and Keane’s prediction wrong and avoid relegation at the end of the season, Farke’s side will need to start picking up points against higher-ranked opposition.
This season, Leeds’ three wins have come against Everton, Wolves and West Ham, all of whom started the day below 13th place in the table.
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According to the BBC, Leeds have not won a game against a team that started the day above 13th place since October 2022, when they beat Liverpool at Anfield.
Since then, Leeds have put together a run of six draws and 11 defeats against higher-ranked opponents.
If Farke wants to relieve the growing pressure on his position, now would be the perfect time to end that run.