Leeds United face one of Darren Bent’s former clubs today in Tottenham Hotspur, and the ex-England striker has changed his view of Leeds.
Leeds United are holding their own thus far, with Sunderland and Leeds starting so impressively in the 2025/26 Premier League season. The Black Cats are another club Darren Bent is synonymous with.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 6 |  SunderlandSunderland | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
| 7 |  Manchester CityManchester City | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 14 | 6 | 8 | 10 |
| 8 |  ChelseaChelsea | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 11 | 8 | 3 | 8 |
| 9 |  EvertonEverton | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 8 |
| 10 |  BrightonBrighton | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 9 | 0 | 8 |
| 11 |  FulhamFulham | 7 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 11 | -3 | 8 |
| 12 |  LeedsLeeds | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 9 | -3 | 8 |
| 13 |  BrentfordBrentford | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | 11 | -2 | 7 |
| 14 |  Manchester UnitedManchester United | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 11 | -4 | 7 |
| 15 |  NewcastleNewcastle | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 5 | -1 | 6 |
| 16 |  Aston VillaAston Villa | 6 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 4 | 6 | -2 | 6 |
| 17 |  Nottingham ForestNottingham Forest | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 10 | -5 | 5 |
Bent thinks some newly-promoted teams can survive, speaking this week. He believes at least one will manage to buck the trend of recent seasons, but his view has not been consistent whatsoever in recent months.
Bent believed Daniel Farke would be sacked without gaining promotion with Leeds. In fact, at one stage last season, Bent predicted Leeds would miss out to Burnley and Sheffield United, but his ‘funny feeling’ did not transpire.
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Darren Bent changes his view on Leeds, with Dominic Calvert-Lewin at the heart of it
Bent believed Leeds were better than Leicester City and Southampton in 2023/24, despite the fact they were a division below the other two clubs. However, his Ipswich Town loyalties meant he would not admit Leeds were better than them.
Had they missed out on promotion, Farke would have gone, and Bent was backing Jose Mourinho for the Leeds role at some stage. Now, he is backing the Whites to survive, having changed his mind yet again.
Speaking via TNT Sports, to Lucy Ward, the talkSPORT pundit said: “Lucy, how important do you think Dominic Calvert-Lewin is going to be? Touch wood, he seems to be playing more minutes now. He looks like he’s getting a bit of consistency.
“Do you think he’s going to be huge? In the fact that I don’t think Leeds will go down now. I know it’s early, but I think they’ve got enough to stay up. But how important do you think he’ll be?”
Ward responded: “I just think Darren, it’s like his Premier League experience. Leeds haven’t had a proper number nine for a while and even though, you know, his injury record is is not that good.
“And he’s he’s not scored that many goals for Leeds yet, I just think the additional stuff that he does. So so the the players can play it up to him and they know that he’ll fight for it with with with centre-backs.
“They know he’ll duel. So, I think that he’s getting in the right areas. I think that he started very well and I just caveat that with he has to stay fit.
“Because I think that Leeds have struggled to score goals at the start of this season and, if they lose him, then it’ll be an issue.”
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Dominic Calvert-Lewin decision defended by Daniel Farke ahead of Spurs
Calvert-Lewin was outstanding against Spurs the last time facing them. That bodes well for this lunchtime, with Calvert-Lewin Leeds’ highest-paid player and needing to start regularly contributing to goals.
However, there were questions over why Farke substituted Calvert-Lewin against Bournemouth, with the timing of it on a defensive set-piece the main issue. Farke defended his Calvert-Lewin decision against the Cherries.
He said: “I normally never make a sub when the other team has the ball. The game was hectic. One free-kick to defend.
“I have a sub to make that allows everyone to regroup. Lukas [Nmecha] has the same skills as Dominic. Can make sure everyone is focused on defending this one long ball.
The 28-year-old centre-forward should start today, and Calvert-Lewin would benefit from one tactical tweak at Leeds.
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