Ben Foster names the surprise team that Leeds United could drag into the relegation battle

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Former Premier League goalkeeper Ben Foster believes Leeds United could still drag one surprise team into the relegation battle after a slow start to the season.

Both Leeds United and Burnley sit outside the bottom three in the Premier League after 10 games, as they look to avoid making an immediate return to the Championship.

A damaging defeat against Brighton ramped up the pressure on Leeds boss Daniel Farke as he looks to avoid relegation from the English top flight for the first time in his career.

Leeds face a crucial trip to Nottingham Forest in their next game, with Sean Dyche’s side currently five points behind the Whites and showing improvement under their new head coach.

However, according to Ben Foster, Daniel Farke and his side could still drag another team into the fight for survival, with Everton currently sitting just one point ahead of Leeds on 12 points.

Leeds United can drag Everton into relegation battle

Speaking on the Cycling GK Podcast, Foster explained why he believes Everton could still get dragged into an unexpected relegation battle.

Although he believes Leeds and Burnley will be worried that the bottom three are beginning to pick up points, Everton will also be looking over their shoulders after a difficult run of results.

Foster said: “What is the bottom three looking like at the minute? Do you know what [West Ham winning] does? Do you know what it does, right?

“It makes Burnley, Leeds, those teams that are down there go, oh, for God’s sake, we don’t need you, start winning, alright.

“Surprisingly, Everton are [14th] at the minute. They’ve had some tough fixtures. But all the news around Everton is that they’ve had a good start to the season. Jackie Grealish is flying. But do you know what I mean? They’re [14th] as it stands.”

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Opta do not believe Everton are in a Premier League relegation battle

Although Leeds slipped to defeat against Brighton, Opta did not change their prediction that Leeds will stay up this season.

According to the latest Opta SuperComputer prediction, Leeds will still finish 16th this season, with an expected points total of 37.82 and a 41.3% chance of relegation.

However, Opta disagree with Foster’s verdict that Everton could get dragged into the shootout for a place in the bottom three.

After 10 games, they rate Everton’s likelihood of being relegated at just 9.27%, with a predicted final points total of 46.07, placing them comfortably in mid-table.