Leeds United is hosting Southampton at Elland Road in round 31 of the English Premier League. Leeds has improved slightly, and thanks to that they have gotten a bit further from the relegation zone. Southampton was on a fantastic run, but they are now on a 4-game losing streak, which they need to break as soon as possible.
Leeds was able to string a couple of wins together, they have scored 5 goals in those 2 games, but they have also conceded 3 goals in those 2 games. The bad news for Leeds, apart from them being so close to the relegation zone is they have conceded in every one of their last 17 games. Leeds’ defense is horrible this season, they have conceded 67 goals in 30 games, which is an average of over 2 goals per game. As far as their offense goes, Leeds is averaging slightly over 1 goal per game, and I’m not sure it will be enough for them to stay in the league. Raphinha is the leading goalscorer for Leeds with 9 goals, but he is at the exit gate from Leeds. Raphinha has also added 3 assists. The injury list is getting a bit shorter for Leeds, but it is still pretty long. Leeds has improved since hiring a new coach, and I hope it will be enough for them to stay in the league.
As I’ve mentioned, Southampton is on a 4-game losing streak, they have scored only 3 goals in those 4 games, while they have conceded 12 goals. As far as their position in the standings goes, Southampton is in the middle, which is pretty far away from the relegation zone, but also pretty far away from the Europa League. Of the 36 goals Southampton has scored this season, Adams is their leading goalscorer with 7 goals, while Broja and Ward Prowse have added 6 goals each. Redmond has added 5 assists. McCarthy and Lyanco are both injured. Southampton got knocked out of the FA Cup a couple of weeks ago, which means the EPL is the only competition left for them, and their schedule is decent. Southampton is a decent team, they have some fantastic players, and they can be a nightmare to a lot of teams.
At the moment, Leeds is in better form than Southampton, but it’s hard to know how the teams will look after the international break. The trends are pretty even here, and I think this could go either way, which is why I will stick to goals in this one.