Don't look now but with the win today Leeds actually jumped ahead of Newcastle United!

Today's win should take Leeds out of the relegation discussion.

Best promotion interview ever

WHU is opening the door for Spurs.

Newcastle says the rumors of our death have been exaggerated

You know… the perception is that this was a great weekend for Leeds that made them safe, but it may have actually made their chances worse… albeit they were practically safe beforehand, to Carl's point above.

According to Opta, Leeds chance of dropping was at 0.1% before the weekend (again, they were already safe), but chances got slightly worse after the weekend - 0.16%.

The numbers are so small they don't matter - they're essentially safe either way - but it's an interesting lesson in perceptions vs reality. The reality is that the Spurs raised the floor for points needed to stay safe and did so by winning a game they weren't supposed to, whereas Leeds merely won a game that was completely expected… that adds up to a slightly worse position for Leeds (again though, they were safe beforehand and still safe afterwards).

Meanwhile, in the world of real games instead of paper stats, Forest is doing some good work right now. If this holds, they're gonna have some nice breathing room.

deadbq03 said:

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You know… the perception is that this was a great weekend for Leeds that made them safe, but it may have actually made their chances worse… albeit they were practically safe beforehand, to Carl's point above.

According to Opta, Leeds chance of dropping was at 0.1% before the weekend (again, they were already safe), but chances got slightly worse after the weekend - 0.16%.

The numbers are so small they don't matter - they're essentially safe either way - but it's an interesting lesson in perceptions vs reality. The reality is that the Spurs raised the floor for points needed to stay safe and did so by winning a game they weren't supposed to, whereas Leeds merely won a game that was completely expected… that adds up to a slightly worse position for Leeds (again though, they were safe beforehand and still safe afterwards).

Meanwhile, in the world of real games instead of paper stats, Forest is doing some good work right now. If this holds, they're gonna have some nice breathing room.

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3-0 Forest at Stamford Bridge with 30 minutes to play!

The only thing that keeps Leeds in my discussions for relegation is the fact that they still play both Spurs and West Ham. So those are both 6 pointers that could make things interesting for Leeds. Leeds are 7 points clear of West Ham with 9 possible points remaining, so it would take West Ham winning out and Leeds losing out to make it happen, but because of their remaining games there is still a chance.

With the weekend results Leeds are actually above Palace now in the standings, same points but Leeds is ahead on goal differential.

Leeds is just fine. We have no evidence to support the idea that WH or Spurs will win enough games to take their spot. It could happen but probably not.

CrockerAg98 said:

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I swear if something catastrophic happens in the next month and Leeds goes down because y'all are casually moving them out of the conversation with absolutely zero regard for superstition and karma....

I bet you people talk about no-hitters while they're in progress, too, don't you?

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You say that as if I should actually care if I jinx them. I don't care about Leeds or any of these.

In fact, I'd find it gloriously entertaining to be wrong and watch a 0.16% chance of relegation turn into relegation across 3 matchdays.

That's a fair consideration, and I agree it makes them worthy of keeping in your discussion (and blue star given)

That being said, Leeds' safety is more of a case of the teams these other candidates face. Leeds losing out doesn't seem too crazy to think about.

But West Ham winning out seems extremely unlikely, and then, you'd also need Spurs to get 6 pts by a wide enough margin to overcome GD. It's all three factors combined that make the likelihood so tiny for Leeds.

But it is juicy to think about those direct battles, so I like the idea of keeping track… it'll probably be a moot point though after this next week.

deadbq03 said:

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That's a fair consideration, and I agree it makes them worthy of keeping in your discussion (and blue star given)

That being said, Leeds' safety is more of a case of the teams these other candidates face. Leeds losing out doesn't seem too crazy to think about.

But West Ham winning out seems extremely unlikely, and then, you'd also need Spurs to get 6 pts by a wide enough margin to overcome GD. It's all three factors combined that make the likelihood so tiny for Leeds.

But it is juicy to think about those direct battles, so I like the idea of keeping track… it'll probably be a moot point though after this next week.

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If I have the power to jinx Leeds, I'm going to start talking about it all the time lol.

The anti-Leeds sentiment is brutal in here! Jealousy! Sheer jealousy!

You think United or City or Spurs would have the gumption to go bankrupt, drop to the Championship, drop again, essentially be kicked out of the league altogether, come back, and after a mere 10 years toiling in the Championship, be striving for lower-mid-table relevance in the Prem? Well, do you?!?

Its all just Spurs fans hoping to manifest it into existence. Spurs v Leeds should be quite the match. Really bummed West Ham got thrashed over the weekend. Need Spurs to regain their form from December thru March.

For me it was seeing all the backlash after they went all-in on Americans and failed.

Understandable perhaps, but still - I'm not a fan of the way that went down.

Key Weekend Results:

Leeds 3-1 Burnley Leeds United are on the brink of retaining their Premier League status for another season after defeating already-relegated Burnley 3-1 at Elland Road. Leeds now have 43 points in the Premier League this season a point total no side has ever been relegated with in a 38-game Premier League season. Leeds midfielder Anton Stach got things under way with a stunning long-range effort early on. Goals from winger Noah Okafor and striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the space of four second-half minutes set Leeds well on their way to victory. Burnley winger Loum Tchaouna managed to score a late consolation for the visitors, with Burnley falling to their 23rd league defeat of the season.

Saturday:
Brentford 3-0 West Ham Brentford soared into the Premier League's top six and deepened West Ham United's relegation fears with a 3-0 win at the Gtech Community Stadium. An end-to-end first half somehow contained just one goal, with Konstantinos Mavropanos scoring in his own net while attempting to stop Michael Kayode from tapping home. Mavropanos also had a goal disallowed at the other end and Valentin Castellanos hit both posts in the first half, before Brentford pulled away from the Hammers after the half. Igor Thiago's penalty awarded for El Hadji Malick Diouf's foul on Dango Ouattara made it 2-0 soon after the interval, and Mikkel Damsgaard's lovely finish in the 82nd minute assured all three points for the Bees.

Aston Villa 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur pulled themselves out of relegation zone with a crucial 2-1 victory against a disinterested Aston Villa squad at Villa Park. Conor Gallagher put Spurs ahead in the 12th minute, before Joao Palhinha hit the post for the visitors. Richarlison then headed home from a corner shortly after as Villa were punished for a below-par performance in front of a frustrated home crowd, only claiming a consolation goal through Emiliano Buendia's flicked header in the dying seconds. Back-to-back wins see Roberto De Zerbi's side leapfrog West Ham into 17th.

Monday:
Chelsea 1-3 Nottingham Forest Forest surged six points clear of the relegation zone thanks to a stunning 3-1 win over out-of-form Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, whose hopes of a top-five finish ended. Vitor Pereira's heavily rotated Forest side extended their unbeaten run in the league to seven games, winning three in a row, with a superb performance. Forest went 2-0 up inside the first 15 minutes courtesy of Taiwo Awoniyi's header and an Igor Jesus penalty, before Cole Palmer missed a spot-kick at the other end. Awoniyi made it 3-0 from substitute Morgan Gibbs-White's assist. Joao Pedro's bicycle kick in second-half stoppage time snapped Chelsea's long goal drought, but it was way too little, way too late for the Blues.

Current Standings
Team. Matches Played. Points.
14. Leeds United 35 43
15. Crystal Palace 34 43
16. Nottingham Forest 35 42
17. Spurs 35 37
18. West Ham 35 36
19. Burnley 35 20
20. Wolves 35 17

When I played club in high school (early 90s), my coach was a product of Leeds academy. It was one of my first introductions to English teams at all, so I've always had a soft spot.

Then when I graduated and started working in Corpus (early 2000s), we worked with guys from a company in Newcastle, so I started in with them. Upside, Alan Shearer, even if he was having his health issues.

Downside, the Ags will win a championship before Newcastle. So, I'm kind of a glutton for punishment.

It's always cool to hear why we pull for the teams we do from this side of the pond.

In truth, as an EPL neutral I find myself pulling for Leeds more often than I want to. I want to dislike them and just hate watch, but they keep reeling me in somehow.

There are some great stories!

I'll watch anyone, but Leeds and Newcastle are the two that really have my heart.

As a spurs supporter this checks out

Somehow I became an Everton supporter. It's been pretty miserable. I love it.

I've gone over there to catch matches a couple times and have made some lifelong friends that we stay with. They're coming to visit the US this year. The prem is special.

So who are Spurs pulling for with Arsenal playing WH on Sunday?

Bull Meachem said:

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So who are Spurs pulling for with Arsenal playing WH on Sunday?

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West Ham pulling out a win would be awesome.

Arsenal. Staying up means way more

carl spacklers hat said:

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West Ham pulling out a win would be awesome.

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That would be hilarious. Create chaos at both ends of the table all at once.

Seriously though, this has trap game written all over it.

A month ago, I thought Leeds would rescue Tottenham from relegation, and then Leeds beat Man U. Spurs got their improbable win this weekend vs Villa, and it's a race to the finish.

Arsenal should be punished for their complacency down the stretch, but not this week. Go gunners this weekend, and I hope Pep & City make them cry in the end.

carl spacklers hat said:

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West Ham pulling out a win would be awesome.

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Hell yes.

pretty sure Spurs dont play til Monday. Game in hand and a point behind. And it would be huge at the top obviously

Let's do it.

I first started watching EPL in 2002. I fell in love with the way Arsenal played and the smooth-passing and bags of skill every player had. One of the early games I watched Arsenal v. Spurs and they kept saying this word I'd never heard before "Darby", except it wasn't spelled like they said it. It was spelled "Derby" like Kentucky. In my head, it was weird.

I grew up playing against some local rec team called the Hotspurs and I didn't like any of them, so I hated the team name too.

As I watched the game, Thierry Henry got the ball around 100 yards away from his own goal and dribbled the whole field, juking and spinning 4 or 5 Spurs players before curving it around the GK. It was amazing and I fell in love with the game. The next season was the Invincible season and Arsenal has been my squad ever since. I celebrate St. Totteringham's Day every year with a chuckle

Spurs can get relegated this season and it'll make me just as happy as when Arsenal win the title.

I just love a good hate watch.