Roy Keane explains why he’s confident of Leeds United and Sunderland’s survival hopes

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Former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane has identified the crucial quality that Leeds United possess, which could set them apart in the Premier League survival race.

Daniel Farke has overseen a strong start to Leeds’ return to the Premier League, with Leeds’ win at Molineux moving his side up to seven points from their opening five games.

Leeds are looking to defend their strong home record against Bournemouth this weekend, having never lost a league game at Elland Road against the Cherries.

The Whites are not the only newly-promoted side that are enjoying success this season, as Sunderland currently sit one point ahead of Leeds on eight points.

Now, Roy Keane has explained what sets the two sides apart from the newly promoted sides that have struggled in recent seasons, as both look to secure their Premier League safety.

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Roy Keane praises Leeds United and Sunderland

Speaking on the Stick to Football podcast by the Overlap, Keane praised Leeds and Sunderland’s off-season recruitment after their strong start to the new season.

Leeds brought in several physically imposing players, such as the impressive midfield duo of Anton Stach and Sean Longstaff, and Keane believes this will be crucial in helping them to bridge the gap between the Premier League and the Championship.

Asked to identify the biggest gap between the two divisions, Keane said: “Physicality, the height, the size of players, the speed of them. 

“You look at all the teams that have come up, particularly Leeds and Sunderland, they’ve bought players who can physically deal with the Premier League week in, week out. 

“And obviously, if you can get quality on top of that, like the big clubs have, fantastic, you’re going places.

“But I think for most of the teams, if you ask any manager over the last few years, what’s caught them out?

“When you’ve been promoted, I think it’s that physicality of the Premier League.  And the quality of the top of that.”

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Leeds’ defence will be key in Bournemouth clash

Although Leeds’ attack burst into life in the win over Wolves, the pattern of the opening five games suggests that Farke’s side will base their survival hopes on being solid in defence.

According to the stats from FotMob, Leeds are currently defending like a mid-table side, which bodes well for their hopes of staying in the top flight. With two clean sheets from five games, Leeds have the sixth most shut-outs in the top flight.

Leeds have conceded a total of 6.8 expected goals against, which ranks them 10th in the top flight. The Whites also average 17.8 tackles per match, 29.4 clearances and have won possession in the final third 3.2 times per match on average, all of which are in the top half in the competition.

Whilst Bournemouth are not prolific scorers, they have accrued 10 points from their opening five games, scoring just six goals in the process. In what is likely to be a game of few chances, Leeds will have to be at their best defensively to pull off another home win.