Niall Quinn delivers promotion verdict on Leeds United after what he saw at Sunderland recently

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Niall Quinn has shared whether his former side Sunderland should ‘fear’ Leeds United or Burnley more in the promotion race.

Leeds and Burnley are the closest two sides in the chasing pack to Sunderland, who currently have a five-point lead at the top of the Championship.

Having sold key man Jack Clarke to Ipswich Town in the summer, Sunderland have defied a lot of expectations to be where they are this stage.

However, the gap to Sunderland is significantly less than what it was to both Leicester City and Ipswich Town this time last year, and Leeds were still able to take that automatic promotion race right to the wire.

Leeds have also already played the vast majority of the teams currently in the top 10, with Burnley the only side have beaten the Whites all season.

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Quinn on who Sunderland should fear – Leeds or Burnley

Points wise, Leeds should be on more than the 23 they have amassed so far. It can be argued they should have taken more from matches against all of Portsmouth, Burnley and Sunderland.

Leeds were actually within a matter of seconds from picking up a statement win at the Stadium of Light earlier this month, until Illan Meslier’s incredible 97th minute howler.

Former Sunderland striker Quinn has been speaking about the promotion race on talkSPORT and made specific reference to that incredible 2-2 draw, stating Leeds were unlucky not to come away with a win.

Quinn believes having watched all three teams so far, Leeds are the one Sunderland should be fearing ahead of Burnley.

He said: “Let’s be honest – Leeds I think look very strong. I think they were really unfortunate not to come away with the three points at the Stadium of Light a few weeks ago, and they’ll be up there.

“You know when the heel of the hunt arrives, they’ll be knocking on the door, and certainly I would fear them, possibly more so than Burnley.”

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Leeds vs Burnley vs Sunderland next six matches compared

Once the next international break comes to an end will signify the period where the table can really start to take shape.

There are some big matches coming up for all three sides at the top and so here is a comparison of how each of their upcoming fixtures look.