‘I really do’… Sky Sports pundit now makes automatic promotion prediction about Leeds United and Ipswich

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Lee Hendrie believes Leeds United are going to catch Ipswich Town in the race for automatic promotion.

Following Tuesday night’s defeat at Sunderland, Leeds now sit 10 points behind the Tractor Boys in the race for the top two after they came from behind to beat Watford.

Leeds’ points tally would’ve been enough to see them sat top of the table after 21 matches last season, but are currently well adrift of the automatic promotion spots after Ipswich and Leicester City’s incredible starts.

Their relentless winning run has already left Leeds with little room for error in terms of results, which is why the loss at Sunderland felt so significant.

Hendrie provided his prediction on the race for promotion on Sky Sports before Tuesday night’s fixtures, and still believes that Ipswich are the most likely to fall away.

Leeds need a long winning run

He said: “Since Daniel Farke’s gone in there, it’s been one of them – he’s been finding his feet. I’m one of them thinking that Ipswich might just fall away and I think that if anyone (will catch them), you can pretty much see that Leeds have been brilliant.

“They’re great to watch. They’re very similar (to Ipswich) aren’t they? They play on the front foot, they score goals and they’ve got a fantastic identity. I think that Leeds will catch Ipswich, I really do.

“I just feel that if anyone’s going to run out of steam, that will be the team that will. But it is the Championship, and the stats speak for themselves with the way Leeds have been this season, they’ve been a joy to watch.”

Leeds have not strung together more than three consecutive wins so far this season and that is a statistic that needs to change, with Ipswich far more consistent in their results.

Ipswich even made five changes to their side in the win over Watford, and that sort of rotation is something Farke can learn from after Leeds’ leggy performance on Tuesday.

While Leeds may have the better squad on paper, one thing is for sure – Ipswich are showing no signs of letting up. All Farke’s side can do is keep the pressure on.