Leeds United are set to square off against a rejuvenated Tottenham side under Roberto De Zerbi tonight.
Following Arsenal’s controversial win over West Ham at the London Stadium on Sunday, Leeds’ Premier League status for next season has been mathematically secured.
Danny Murphy claimed this gives Tottenham a major advantage going into the game. Daniel Farke’s men seemingly don’t have anything to play for. Spurs, though, desperately need three points.
Alan Pardew warns Tottenham about “unhinged” Leeds United
However, former West Ham and Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has a different point of view. The Englishman offers a stern warning to Spurs before they take on Leeds.
When Leeds narrowly lost to Spurs at Elland Road back in October, no one would have predicted the position the two sides would find themselves in by the time this game came around.
When previewing the game at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on talkSPORT, Pardew claimed that Leeds being mathematically safe will help Farke’s side when they take on Spurs.
“The psychological factor here has helped Leeds. It has helped Spurs, but it has helped Leeds more because they can literally now say we are Premier League players, all our finances are in place for next year, and let’s go and have a game tomorrow,” Pardew said.
“They could play with real freedom tomorrow, unhinged by the pressure that comes from maybe getting relegated. So that does put a little bit of jeopardy on that game.”
Although Leeds are certain to be a Premier League side come next season, they are likely to have a huge say in who joins them. United facing both Spurs and West Ham before the end of the campaign.
A penny for Archie Gray’s thoughts ahead of Tottenham vs Leeds United
When Archie Gray left us after just one season of being involved in the first team in 2024 for £40million, he would have imagined he would be joining a side, in Spurs, that would be frequently competing near the top of the table, not battling relegation.
Since De Zerbi has come in at Spurs, Gray has started just one of the four games under the Italian. The youngster has been an unused substitute in their last two games.
Surely there must be a part of Gray who wishes he had stuck around at Leeds. He could’ve helped us get promoted and solidified ourselves in the Premier League. Instead, he moved to a club that has been nothing short of a toxic mess since he arrived.
It seemed inevitable that Gray would move on from us sooner rather than later due to his outstanding potential. But, the youngster may have jumped ship too soon. And, this season has been clear evidence of that.