Leeds United are one of three teams that are separated by just two points at the top of the Championship. They are in third right now, and a win on Friday night will take them back to the top of the league before Norwich and Sheffield United play over the weekend. However, they have not been playing anywhere near their best recently, and are lucky to have just two wins from their last five games.

They come into this one on the back of an away defeat at QPR, a big game that was a game in hand they had and would have taken them to the top of the table. Although they won last weekend, beating Bolton 2-1, they were far from convincing in that game and had they been playing a tougher opponents then things could have been very different.

The positive for them is that despite playing poorly they are still bang there with a great chance of automatic promotion, and that is what they have to focus on. This was never going to be easy for them, but they have had their bad spell and now it is time to come out of the other side a better club.

Opponents West Brom lost to Sheffield United at the weekend, and that was a game that would have really allowed them to close the gap on the top three. Automatic promotion is still a possibility for West Brom, but they will have to go on a good run and hope those above them continue to drop points. There would be no better way to start their run than with a fantastic away win at Leeds, and that would move West Brom onto 63 points, just one behind Leeds and Sheffield United and three behind Norwich.

Every game from here until the end of the season can be classed as a big game for Leeds, but with where they are right now in terms of how they are playing then you get the feeling this is even bigger than some of those that are to come. There are three massive points up for grabs at Elland Road on Friday night, and this should be a cracking game to watch.

The Championship Promotion Race

All the clubs at the top of the Championship are picking up points, and the team that eventually emerges and wins the division will be the one that could string together a run of wins. The team that looks most likely to do that right now is Sheffield United, who have won four and drawn one of their last five. Norwich have also won four of their last five, but suffered defeat in their other game.

Compare that to Leeds, who have two wins, one draw and two defeats in their last five games and you can see where Leeds are failing right now. They are playing ok, but they are not playing at a level that is good enough to keep up with the top two, let alone one that is good enough to overtake them and win the league.

One thing that Leeds do have right now is a number of injuries and a small squad, which is certainly going against them. They got away with that towards the beginning of the season, but now we are at the business end and players are getting tired and injured, their flaw is becoming more and more apparent.

I don’t think we can quite discount West Brom from the race either just yet, and they would firmly be back in the race if they manage to take three points from this game. They are playing well, and have won three of their last five but with the position they are in and the points they are behind, they need to do more than that if they want to seriously jump into contention for the automatic promotion spots.

They have the ability to do that, and they played very well against Sheffield United last weekend despite losing the game. However, at this time of the season, it is about getting points on the board and not so much about how you play to get them. We saw Leeds play poorly last weekend and get three points against Bolton, while West Brom played much better but came away with nothing against Sheffield United.

The signs are there for The Baggies, and it is great to see them playing well, but they have to find a way to win at all costs, regardless of how they play. Sometimes it won’t be pretty and sometimes they won’t deserve it, but if they want a swift return to the Premier League through the automatic promotion spots then that is what they are going to have to do.

Leeds vs West Brom Betting Tips

There is no other way to describe this game than to say it is absolutely massive for both teams. The three points on offer here can move Leeds back to the top of the Championship before Norwich and Sheffield United play, while they can also move West Brom to just one point behind Leeds and Sheffield United, and three behind Norwich at the top.

Of the two teams, I think West Brom have been playing slightly better recently, and they were unlucky to take nothing from their game against Sheffield United last weekend. Leeds have not been playing as well, and were fortunate that they were playing one of the worst teams in the league last weekend, otherwise they could have lost that game.

However, I’m sure the Yorkshire club are going to be up for this one, and they will know the importance of it. They had a chance during midweek to go back to the top of the league against QPR and blew it, they simply cannot afford to blow another one, just for morale reasons rather than anything else.

While three points are what both of these teams want, I don’t think either will take three points from the game on Friday, I think we will end with a draw and a point each for the clubs. At any other point in the season, West Brom would take that, but they need a big result to pull them back into the automatic promotion race, and they will see a win at Leeds as that result.

This should be a very good game to watch on Friday night, and I expect both teams to go out there and give it everything they have. I think that will leave them cancelling each other out though, and that is why I am backing the draw.

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