Paul Merson has issued an ominous prediction ahead of Leeds United’s clash with Brighton on Saturday, telling Sportskeeda that he would be shocked if the Seagulls did not win comfortably at Elland Road.
A game against Roberto De Zerbi’s side is probably not what we need right now. Brighton sit eighth in the Premier League. But if they win all of their games in hand, and other results fall their way, they could be in the top-four.
However, we are now in a situation where we do need to start winning a couple of games we have little right to. Southampton beat Chelsea a couple of weeks ago. Meanwhile, Everton have beaten Arsenal.
Merson predicts Leeds vs Brighton result
It was a long time since we beat Liverpool. And that remains our only away win of the campaign. So our performances at Elland Road look set to go a long way to deciding what division Leeds are playing in next season.
Worryingly, Merson has backed Brighton for a big win in his predictions piece.
“It’s a massive game for Leeds United. They’re playing okay but they keep losing matches. Sometimes teams play poorly and get beaten. This Leeds team is playing alright but they’re still getting beaten and that would worry me if I was their fan,” he told Sportskeeda, as he predicted a 3-0 away win.
“Brighton are a very good team and they are playing really good football. Even when they got beaten by Fulham a few weeks ago, they dominated the game. I’d be shocked if Brighton don’t get the win here against Leeds.”
Defensive improvement not taken into account
While even the most optimistic Leeds fan would struggle to confidently back Javi Gracia’s side to win, it does appear that Merson has been particularly harsh.
Leeds have been a lot better defensively since the World Cup. In fact, only one team has put more than two goals past Illan Meslier since the season resumed. And that was Manchester City.
Of course, Brighton have the potential to blow teams away. West Ham conceded four against the Seagulls.
We will definitely have to be at our best to get something from the game. But the early signs from Gracia’s tenure suggest that Leeds can make it a tight encounter.
If we are going to stay up, these are probably the kind of games we simply have to be taking points from.
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