Not many will have predicted Bafetimbi Gomis as a spectator at Elland Road on Saturday afternoon as Leeds United eased past Oxford United to win 4-0.
Goals from Dan James, Jayden Bogle, Brenden Aaronson and Manor Solomon saw Leeds pick up a 13th Championship win in their 22nd game, while also keeping a 12th clean sheet of the 2024-24 campaign.
It sees Leeds remain in second place, three points behind leaders Sheffield United. Chris Wilder’s men were also victorious, beating Cardiff away from home 2-0 while Burnley edged past Watford to win 2-1.
Sunderland also secured three points, coming from behind to beat Daniel Farke’s old side Norwich after The Canaries had been relegated to 10 men. Gomis was in attendance as a guest of Josuha Guilavogui.
Bafetimbi Gomis backs Leeds United for promotion “soon”
The 39-year-old striker is remembered for his iconic crawling celebration, as well as his brilliant spell with Swansea City. Gomis also enjoyed spells in Turkey, France, Saudi Arabia and most recently a spell in Japan.
Now a free agent not officially retired, Gomis watched on as his old pal Guilavogui came on for the final minutes of the 4-0 win. Gomis said the Elland Road atmosphere was “amazing” on Guilavogui’s Instagram.
Now, on his own Instagram page, Gomis backed Farke’s men to win a place back in the Premier League. He also said it was great to see former Swansea stars Dan James and Joe Rodon playing so well.
He said: “Massive thanks to Leeds United and Josuha Guilavogui for an unforgettable match day! The team fought hard, the atmosphere was on fire, and it’s clear that Leeds is on the rise,” Gomis wrote.
“So proud to see talented players from Swansea Academy representing Wales with pride while shaping the future of this iconic club. All the best for the rest of the season. Premier League, you’ll be back soon!”
Predicting Leeds United and promotion rivals next five games
It is four games unbeaten for Leeds since Blackburn, beating Derby, Middlesbrough and Oxford while drawing at Preston. The next five see Leeds face Stoke, Derby, Blackburn, Hull and Sheffield Wednesday.
| Leeds’ next five | Sheff Utd’s next five | Burnley’s next five | Sunderland’s next five |
| Stoke (A) December 26 Prediction: 0-1 | Burnley (H) December 26 Prediction: 1-1 | Sheff Utd (A) December 26 Prediction: 1-1 | Blackburn (A) December 26 Prediction: 2-1 |
| Derby (A) December 29 Prediction: 1-2 | West Brom (H) December 29 Prediction: 0-0 | Middlesbrough (A) December 29 Prediction: 2-2 | Stoke (A) December 29 Prediction: 1-2 |
| Blackburn (H) January 1 Prediction: 1-1 | Sunderland (A) January 1 Prediction: 1-1 | Stoke (H) January 1 Prediction: 2-0 | Sheff Utd (H) January 1 Prediction: 1-1 |
| Hull (A) January 4 Prediction: 0-3 | Watford (A) January 4 Prediction: 1-2 | Blackburn (A) January 4 Prediction: 1-1 | Portsmouth (H) January 5 Prediction: 3-0 |
| Sheff Wed (H) January 19 Prediction: 3-1 | Cardiff (H) January 18 Prediction: 3-0 | Sunderland (H) January 17 Prediction: 1-1 | Burnley (A) January 17 Prediction: 1-1 |
| Total points: 13 | Total points: 9 | Total points: 7 | Total points: 8 |
What is striking, is that Sheffield United and Burnley have an incredibly tough run of games. Leeds’ trio all face each other in the next five games and there will be points dropped for Leeds to then capitalise on.
Leeds do face three away games in the next five but they are against sides that are struggling, and sit in the bottom half of the table. Should the predictions go as above, Leeds will be top of the table after five.
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