Leeds United will have the chance to pile more pressure on Spurs before the season is over.
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Ex-Leeds United assistant coach Gus Poyet has warned another of his former clubs, Tottenham Hotspur, are in real danger of relegation this season.
Leeds are currently the best-placed of four teams fighting to avoid joining likely relegation candidates Wolves and Burnley in the bottom three. The Whites are 15th, three points ahead of West Ham and Nottingham Forest while two clear of Spurs.
Few expected the latter to be involved in such a scrap but having failed to pick up a single Premier League win in 2026, Spurs are swirling the drain. New manager Igor Tudor has lost all of his four matches in charge across all competitions amid calls for him to be axed already.
Poyet spent three years as a player at Spurs before coaching the North London outfit, for whom he left his assistant role at Leeds under Dennis Wise in 2007. The Uruguayan is therefore well-placed to understand how the current relegation scrap might be affecting both.
“Winning the Europa League and finishing 17th last season, that was an accident,” Poyet told the YEP of Spurs, via Gambling.com where users discover top online casinos. “This year is not an accident anymore. Now it's a problem, and the more you play with that situation, the more risk you have to go down.
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“So I think they need to be careful, very, very careful. It's a tricky one, but without any doubt, I think Tottenham are in danger from what I felt when I was at the stadium [during their recent defeat to Arsenal] watching the team.”
Of course, Leeds still have to travel to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for what is their third-last game of the season in May. Daniel Farke’s side have won just one away game all season but in Spurs, will face the Premier League’s second-worst team at home - better only than Burnley.
Leeds United can use Spurs toxicity to their advantage
Tottenham have not won a Premier League home game since early December and last week’s 3-1 defeat to Crystal Palace was a perfect example of how quickly things can unravel. Tudor’s side went 1-0 up on 34 minutes but by half-time were 3-1 down and reduced to 10 men.
The Tottenham Hotspur stadium has become toxic, with any setback or mistake met with audible groans and boos. Poyet believes visiting teams such as Leeds can use that to their advantage as the pressure piles up.
“I call them World Cup final games, massive ones,” he added. “It's worrying for everyone. For Leeds players to play at Elland Road, now is fantastic. For Tottenham to play at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, it's terrible. It's a massive difference.
“Leeds can take advantage of that depending on the situation because all players are not all the same mentally, and the atmosphere affects the place in a different way. So if you go there, score first or get through the first 30 minutes, it could be a nightmare for the local players. That's something that could be important for Leeds at that time.”