Yorkshire Evening Post

Leeds United’s key rivals Tottenham have suffered a big fresh blow in their quest to avoid the drop - leading to changes in the relegation odds and bookies’ new predicted final Premier League table.

Leeds began the weekend sat in 15th place and four points clear of the dropzone but third-bottom West Ham then took themselves out of the relegation zone with Friday night’s 4-0 win at home to Wolves.

The victory left Tottenham Hotspur in the dropzone for the first time this season but Spurs were then presented with the chance to get back out of it with Sunday afternoon’s clash at Sunderland in new boss Roberto De Zerbi’s first game in charge.

Spurs began the day three points behind Leeds on the same amount of games played but De Zerbi’s first game in charge ended in a 1-0 defeat in which captain Cristian Romero was also forced off injured.

At the same time, a fourth-bottom Nottingham Forest side who began the weekend just one point behind Leeds hosted Aston Villa, also in a 2pm kick-off.

In a fresh boost for Forest, the Reds left Villa Pak with a 1-1 draw that took them level on points with the Whites but still behind them on goal difference, and having played a game more.

Ahead of Monday night’s clash against Manchester United at Old Trafford, Leeds are three points clear of the dropzone but having played a game less than third-bottom Spurs who are two points adrift of West Ham and three behind both Leeds and Forest.

It’s all led to changes in the relegation odds and this is the bookies’ new predicted final table.

Key Leeds United rivals Tottenham have been dealt a new double blow.

Sign up to our Leeds United newsletter

Sign up

Thank you for signing up!

Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Yorkshire Evening Post, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more.

Submitting...

Leeds United have been given a slice of relief through a fresh double blow for key rivals Tottenham who have also been hit by a key man injury setback.

Leeds began the weekend sat in 15th place and four points clear of the dropzone but third-bottom West Ham then took themselves out of the relegation zone with Friday night’s 4-0 win at home to Wolves.

The victory left Tottenham Hotspur in the dropzone for the first time this season but Spurs were then presented with the chance to get back out of it with Sunday afternoon’s clash at Sunderland in new boss Roberto De Zerbi’s first game in charge.

Spurs began the day three points behind Leeds on the same amount of games played but De Zerbi’s first game in charge ended in a 1-0 defeat in which captain Cristian Romero was also forced off injured.

At the same time, a fourth-bottom Nottingham Forest side who began the weekend just one point behind Leeds hosted Aston Villa, also in a 2pm kick-off.

In a fresh boost for Forest, the Reds left Villa Pak with a 1-1 draw that took them level on points with the Whites but still behind them on goal difference.

Up at Sunderland, Spurs looked to have been awarded a first-half penalty as Randal Kolo Muani hit the deck sandwiched in between Luke O’Nien and Omar Alderete but it looked a surprising decision and VAR intervened and advised referee Rob Jones to visit his monitor.

His decision to award the penalty was then overturned as part of a goalless first half at the Stadium of Light.

Sunderland, though, went ahead on the hour mark after a combination of brilliant play from Nordi Mukiele and bad luck on Tottenham’s part.

In a fairly safe and dull game, Mukiele cut inside from the right flank and made his way to the edge of the box before unleashing a low drive which took a huge deflection off Micky van de Ven en route to beating Antonin Kinsky in the Spurs net.

Moments later, Spurs were dealt another blow as captain Cristian Romero was forced off injured after a blow to his leg, leaving the pitch close to tears.

Sunderland then pressed for a second although Spurs were given minutes of added time to get an equaliser.

At the City Ground, Forest fell behind in the 23rd minute to an own goal from Murillo but Neco Williams drew the hosts level seven minutes before the break.

Leeds United’s key rivals West Ham have bagged a massive boost in their quest for Premier League survival and it’s led to an enormous change in the bookies’ new predicted final table.

The Hammers began the weekend sat third-bottom in the division’s relegation zone, just one point behind fourth-bottom Tottenham Hotspur, three behind fourth-bottom Nottingham Forest and four points adrift of fifth-bottom Leeds.

The Irons, though, were presented with a huge chance to make big inroads as they played first on Friday night with a home clash against bottom-of-the-table Wolves.

The game remained goalless for 41 minutes but in the end doubles from Taty Castellanos and Konstantinos Mavropanos saw the Hammers to an impressive 4-0 victory which has taken them out of the dropzone at Tottenham’s expense.

For the first time this season, Spurs sit in the relegation zone, two points behind West Ham who are now level on points with Forest and just one point behind Leeds who face a huge task on Monday night against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Tottenham, meanwhile, visit Sunderland on Sunday afternoon in new boss Roberto De Zerbi’s first game in charge whilst Forest host Aston Villa at the same time, both in 2pm kick-offs.

West Ham’s win was massive in the battle for Premier League survival and it’s now led to an enormous change in the bookies’ new predicted final table based on the latest odds.

Here is the full new rundown in reverse order.

Leeds United head to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for a huge Premier League clash next month.

Sign up to our Leeds United newsletter

Sign up

Thank you for signing up!

Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Yorkshire Evening Post, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more.

Submitting...

Tottenham Hotspur winger Mohammed Kudus looks set to miss next month’s relegation six-pointer against Leeds United after an injury setback.

Kudus suffered a quadriceps injury during a 1-1 draw with Sunderland on January 4 and has not played since. Tottenham have subsequently failed to win a single Premier League match without their £55million summer signing, a dismal run which leaves them a point above the relegation zone with seven games left.

The Ghanian proved to be a real menace when Tottenham won 2-1 at Elland Road back in October, setting up Mathys Tel to score the opener before capitalising on a Gabriel Gudmundsson slip to net the winner himself. But it appears Leeds won’t need to worry about containing him at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on May 11.

Tottenham published a statement confirming the blow on Thursday. It read: “We can confirm that Mohammed Kudus has suffered a setback in his return from injury. The Ghana international forward suffered a significant quad injury during our Premier League fixture against Sunderland in January.

“He had returned to team training during the past week, however will now require further specialist review and, potentially, surgery. We will provide any relevant further updates in due course.”

Subscribe to Inside Elland Road newsletter with Graham Smyth for unique, behind-the-scenes Leeds United coverage, expert analysis and exclusive interviews

Tottenham season could be over for Mohammed Kudus

Kudus was initially pencilled in for a return after the March international break, which would have been a major boost for new boss Roberto De Zerbi. The winger is still Tottenham’s most creative player with five Premier League assists, despite the lengthy absence, while also scoring twice.

But he will now face an extension of his spell on the sidelines with BBC Sport reporting it is unlikely the forward plays again this season. Leeds head to North London in one month’s time and will almost certainly not be coming up against Kudus.

That May 11 meeting could become season-defining for either side once it arrives, with it being the third-to-last fixture of the season. Both Leeds and Tottenham are currently locked in a relegation battle and barring any major changes, their meeting will be deemed a six-pointer.

Leeds will have a couple of their own stars racing to feature at Tottenham, with Anton Stach and Joe Rodon picking up ankle ligament injuries at West Ham last weekend. The pair are expected to be out through April but Daniel Farke outlined some hope his medical staff can speed up recovery.

Barring any setbacks of their own, Stach and Rodon will hope to be available when Leeds go to Tottenham in mid-May. The Whites also host Burnley and Wolves before that trip so will hope to be within touching distance of safety come kick-off.

Leeds United will finally resume their bid for Premier League survival with next Monday night’s clash at Manchester United - ahead of which the Whites have the supercomputer’s backing in their predicted final table and points.

Leeds now have an FA Cup semi-final to look forward to for the first time in 39 years after Sunday’s epic victory on penalties at West Ham in one of the most memorable quarter-finals imaginable.

But now it’s finally back to what boss Daniel Farke admits is the club’s “bread and butter” of Premier League survival, the first of seven huge games left presenting itself next Monday night against arch rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford.

Farke’s men have gone four league games without scoring a goal although the last two of those games ended in goalless draws against Crystal Palace and most recently Brentford.

With seven games left, the Whites sit in 15th place, four points clear of third-bottom West Ham, three points ahead of fourth-bottom Tottenham Hotspur and just one point ahead of fifth-bottom Nottingham Forest.

There is then a six point gap up to Crystal Palace in 14th place as part of a fight for survival in which bottom two clubs Wolves and Burnley are cut adrift.

Spurs, meanwhile, now have a big-game new manager in Roberto De Zerbi for the club’s survival bid put Opta’s supercomputer is predicting a nail-biting ending in its predicted final and table and points which features big backing for Farke’s Whites.

As the Premier League finally gets set to resume, here is the full predicted final table in reverse order.

Leeds United are heading for an FA Cup quarter-final at West Ham - and receiving strong backing from the bookmakers in the club’s ultimate priority of sealing Premier League survival.

Daniel Farke’s Whites have now gone four league games without scoring a goal but two of those contests ended in goalless draws, keeping Leeds four points clear of the dropzone.

Bottom two sides Wolves and Burnley remain well adrift but the battle to avoid finishing third-bottom appears to be a clear four-horse race between Leeds, Nottingham Forest, Tottenham and West Ham although Crystal Palace are not yet completely out of the woods.

Fifth-bottom Forest are now hot on United’s heels following last weekend’s 3-0 win at Tottenham which has left Forest just one point behind 15th-placed Leeds who are three points ahead of fourth-bottom Spurs and four clear of third-bottom West Ham.

Leeds will visit both Spurs and West Ham in the relegation-battle run in in two massive and potentially decisive games.

Attention will back to the FA Cup next weekend as Leeds visit relegation rivals West Ham, the club’s fight for Premier League survival then set to resume the following weekend with a Monday night trip to Manchester United.

But the relegation betting markets are continually changing and the bookies have now made a very strong fresh Whites call in their new predicted final table based on the very latest odds for the drop.

Here, using title odds for sides expected to end up in the top half, is how they now think the final table will look.

Leeds United still have to play relegation rivals Tottenham this season.

Sign up to our Leeds United newsletter

Sign up

Thank you for signing up!

Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Yorkshire Evening Post, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more.

Submitting...

One of Leeds United’s key relegation rivals have a new manager but the same old injury issues with just seven games of the season left.

Tottenham Hotspur confirmed the appointment of Roberto De Zerbi as their new head coach on Tuesday evening, having parted ways with Igor Tudor following a 3-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest before the international break. The Croatian was in charge for just 44 days and left Spurs one point from the drop zone.

De Zerbi is believed to have signed a five-year contract with no relegation clause at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. The Italian has seven games to keep Tottenham afloat, one of which will see them welcome Leeds to North London in early-May - each side’s third-to-last fixture.

“I am delighted to be joining this fantastic football club, which is one of the biggest and most prestigious in the world,” De Zerbi said following confirmation of his appointment. “In all my discussions with the club’s leadership, their ambition for the future has been clear – to build a team capable of reaching great achievements, and to do that playing a style of football that excites and inspires our supporters.

Subscribe to Inside Elland Road newsletter with Graham Smyth for unique, behind-the-scenes Leeds United coverage, expert analysis and exclusive interviews

“I am here because I believe in that ambition and have signed a long-term contract to give everything to deliver it. Our short-term priority is to climb the Premier League table, which will be the complete focus until the final whistle of the last game of the season. I’m looking forward to getting out on the training pitch and working with these players to achieve that.”

Injury issues continue for Tottenham

Tottenham’s first game under De Zerbi is at Sunderland but the new head coach is already facing the possibility of a fresh injury blow. Midfielder Pape Sarr missed Senegal’s 3-1 win over Gambia on Tuesday, reportedly due to a shoulder issue.

Sarr has over a week to recover from any issue before Tottenham go to the Stadium of Light but his absence would only add to a long list of first-team absentees. Any time out of training would also be an issue, given the complexity of De Zerbi’s style and lack of time to start getting results.

Sarr has played 22 Premier League games so far this season, registering two goals and three assists. The energetic midfielder has been one of Tottenham’s most consistent performers.

De Zerbi already has several first-team players out injured. Wilson Odobert, Dejan Kulusevski, James Maddison, Guglielmo Vicario, Mathys Tel, Mohammed Kudus, Rodrigo Bentancur, Ben Davies and Yves Bissouma are all currently sidelined.

Leeds United’s key struggling rivals are on the hunt for another manager.

Sign up to our Leeds United newsletter

Sign up

Thank you for signing up!

Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Yorkshire Evening Post, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more.

Submitting...

Leeds United’s key struggling rivals Tottenham Hotspur have announced that head coach Igor Tudor has left the club with immediate effect.

Spurs turned to former Juventus boss Tudor after sacking Thomas Frank but the troubled London outfit are still yet to win a Premier League game in 2026.

Last weekend’s 3-0 defeat at home to fellow relegation rivals Nottingham Forest left fourth-bottom Spurs just one point off the dropzone and the club have now announced that Tudor has left his position by mutual consent.

A statement released by the club on Sunday afternoon read: “We can confirm that it has been mutually agreed for head coach Igor Tudor to leave the club with immediate effect.

“Tomislav Rogic and Riccardo Ragnacci have also left their respective roles of goalkeeping coach and physical coach.

“We thank Igor, Tomislav and Riccardo for their efforts during the past six weeks, in which they worked tirelessly.

“We also acknowledge the bereavement that Igor has recently suffered and send our support to him and his family at this difficult time.

“An update on a new head coach will be provided in due course.”

Boss leaves after bagging just one point

Tudor lasted just seven games in charge of Spurs, five of which ended in defeat.

His sole victory came in the Champions League second leg at home to Atletico Madrid who still progressed on aggregate.

Tudor took just one point from his five Premier League games in charge via the 1-1 draw at Liverpool.

Sean Dyche and Robert De Zerbi are the two market leaders to replace him, followed by Marco Silva, ex-Monaco boss Adi Hutter and then Mauricio Pochettino who has long been linked with a Spurs return.

Pochettino is in charge of the USA national side who were hammered 5-2 by Belgium on Saturday night.

It is being reported that Spurs will appoint a new head coach in the next few days.

Leeds United have just seven games left in their fight for Premier League survival - but who has the ‘easiest’ run-in of the teams battling to avoid the drop?

Daniel Farke’s Whites have gone four games without scoring a goal but two of those contests ended in 0-0 draws and Leeds sit four points clear of the relegation zone after 31 matches played.

United are four points clear of third-bottom West Ham but also three points ahead of fourth-bottom Tottenham Hotspur and also hold a one-point advantage over fifth-bottom Nottingham Forest.

There is then a six-point gap up to 14th-placed Crystal Palace who themselves are three points adrift of both Newcastle United and Bournemouth who already appear pretty much safe on 42 points, a comment which might also be applied to Palace on 39 points.

At the foot of the table, the bookies also think that bottom two sides Wolves and Burnley are already as good as down, second-bottom Burnley nine points behind West Ham and Wolves 12 adrift.

Nevertheless, it means there are still seven teams very much still battling for Premier League survival if Palace are included but who has the hardest and easiest run in?

Here, we have worked out the average league position of each team’s remaining opponents and ranked the respective run ins from ‘hardest’ to ‘easiest’ based on those results.

One of Leeds United's closest relegation rivals are considering a shock move for Sean Dyche, according to reports.

Sign up to our Leeds United newsletter

Sign up

Thank you for signing up!

Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Yorkshire Evening Post, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more.

Submitting...

Leeds United’s relegation rivals, Tottenham Hotspur, could be set to make a drastic move to appoint Sean Dyche as manager in a bid to avoid the drop.

Both sides are embroiled in the relegation battle at present, with Leeds 15th on 33 points and Spurs 17th on 30 points, just four and one clear of 18th, respectively.

However, where Leeds are still managing to scrape results even when playing poorly, the signs are much worse for Spurs, who have taken just four points from their last 13 Premier League games since their most recent win on 28th December.

Igor Tudor on the brink at Spurs

Spurs’ poor run cost Thomas Frank his job after just eight months and 38 games in charge, replaced surprisingly by Igor Tudor. However, things have only gotten worse under the Croatian, who has lost five of his seven games in charge across all competitions, and taken just one point from five Premier League outings.

As a result, Tudor’s job now appears to be in serious jeopardy as everyone associated with Spurs works under the anxiety of stumbling toward what would surely be the most shocking relegation in Premier League history, if not around Europe’s top leagues.

Now, according to the Telegraph, the Lilywhites are considering an ‘SOS call’ to Dyche in a bid to save their skins.

The report states that former Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi is their current first choice, with the Italian out of work since leaving Marseille in February, but he is insisting he will only take the job at the end of the season when he knows whether or not Spurs will still be a top-flight club.

Spurs don’t play again until 12th April, when they travel to Sunderland, and if they fail to win and West Ham beat Leeds later that day, they would be in the bottom three.

A decision on Tudor’s future is expected to be made by Monday, though that situation has been complicated by the death of Igor’s father, Mario, and the funeral this week.

Tottenham eyeing up Sean Dyche

With all of the above in mind, Dyche now appears to be high up on Tottenham’s list as they desperately seek to avoid the drop.

The 54-year-old has a track record in this regard, having navigated Burnley through multiple relegation battles and even into European competition in 2018, while he helped Everton maintain their top-flight status despite player sales, and PSR-related points deductions and spending restrictions between January 2023 and January 2025.

Dyche has been without a job himself since 12th February, when he was sacked by Nottingham Forest after 25 games in charge - winning 10 and losing just nine. The Tricky Trees were 17th and three points above the relegation zone at the time of his departure, and while they’ve moved up one place, the gap between them and West Ham remains exactly the same.

The biggest hurdle for Spurs in convincing Dyche to come to North London would be his potential reluctance at signing a seven-game contract, with the Lilywhites unlikely to see him as a viable candidate to take the club forward beyond the end of this season.

Leeds are slated to travel to Spurs on Saturday, 9th May, in what could be a vital clash in the Premier League relegation battle.