Leeds United: A tricky test at Blackburn to come
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00:00 Finally, Blackburn away in Leeds' next game.
00:03 It's a little away run, a couple of tricky games.
00:07 Obviously, Blackburn, you know, they're a side sort of fledgling on the championship.
00:13 They're not really expected to go up, but again, not really expected to go down either.
00:16 It's one of those where Leeds probably will find it quite tough because
00:20 games like that in the championship always tend to be.
00:23 But again, Leeds need to be winning realistically.
00:27 Yeah, I don't really know what to expect in this one, really.
00:29 You sort of look at it and you sort of think, well, Blackburn, where they are on the table,
00:33 I mean, they're on the periphery of the playoffs.
00:34 I think it was at two points outside the playoffs, so they're right there, you know.
00:37 But actually, when you look at it, most of them, the majority, more of their points
00:41 anyway, have come away from home rather than at Ewood Park.
00:43 So they're not like a team where they've built a fortress there.
00:46 That said, it's almost a flip side for Leeds, who have obviously been brilliant at home,
00:51 having won seven in a row.
00:52 And their away... Leeds' away record's been pretty good.
00:54 You know, they are up there in the away table stakes, but it just could be even better.
00:57 And it's going to have to be better, really, to sort of close that gap down to the top two.
01:01 And obviously, you've got to think about Southampton below you as well.
01:04 So, you know, like it's an exacting standard.
01:06 They're going to have to keep up picking three-point holes.
01:08 I think it'll be a difficult game, but I suspect Leeds will probably, hopefully, just have a bit too much class.
01:14 Obviously, Sammy Smoddick is the Championship's top scorer, so he's the first port of call,
01:18 someone you've got to look at for Blackburn.
01:19 I mean, 14 goals is an incredible return.
01:21 He's too clear at the top of the chart.
01:22 So they're going to have to pay very close attention to him.
01:26 Andrew Moran has also got five assists, so he'll obviously assume he'll play on one of the wings.
01:29 So he's someone that we'll need looking at as well.
01:32 But it's a massive game.
01:34 Obviously, it's a lunchtime kick-off as well.
01:35 So it'll be a bit of a chance to put a bit of pressure on Ipswich.
01:38 They're also away.
01:39 It feels like a big weekend, this one.
01:41 Ipswich are away at Middlesbrough and we all saw Middlesbrough at the weekend, how good they were.
01:45 And, you know, I mean, you would probably, any other fixture, you would fancy them to bounce back from the Leeds defeat with a victory.
01:53 And they still might against Ipswich.
01:54 You'd have to think Middlesbrough would have a very good chance of getting one point, if not three, against Ipswich.
01:59 So, I mean, it's no good.
02:00 I mean, people might say we're talking about this like it's like three or four games to go in the season and there's not an awful lot of games to go.
02:05 But bit by bit, that gap has got to start to be eroded.
02:09 And this feels like a big weekend to do that.
02:11 And obviously, it's the start of two back-to-back away games with Sunderland away coming up on Tuesday night.
02:15 And again, that feels like a similar-ish fixture, really.
02:17 Another team who are sort of just outside the playoffs.
02:20 And I think the two games where Leeds will have the better team and will have the better players on show, that's no disrespect.
02:26 I think that's probably just fair enough.
02:27 But they're going to have to put it all together because, you know, we thought like going to places like Stoke and look what happened.
02:32 So, you know, they are liable to the odd slip-up.
02:34 They've been extremely consistent lately, but now they've got to keep it going.
02:37 And I don't know about going there and needing two wins.
02:40 Obviously, if they can get two wins for these next two games, great.
02:42 But certainly go there and get at the very least one win, hopefully four points and ideally six, because before you know it, it's Coventry and then it's Ipswich.
02:49 So, yeah, it feels like a massive weekend.
02:51 Hard game to predict, I think, Daniel, really.
02:54 I think you hit the nail on the head with it.
02:55 But I suspect Leeds will probably just have too much, but I don't think it'll be easy.