Phil Hay believes that it will take Leeds United another six victories in their remaining 10 Championship fixtures to finish ahead of Fulham and secure a long-awaited Premier League return.  

Leeds have dusted themselves down after a poor run of form at the start of 2020, with four wins on the bounce brining four clean sheets, which has helped Marcelo Bielsa’s side retain their five-point lead over Fulham and the chasing-pack in the play-off places.

There are 10 games left for the Cottagers to grapple promotion from Leeds’ grasp, with Scott Parker’s side set to head to Elland Road later this month.

Yet, with the finishing line in full view, many people are breaking down just how many victories it will take for Leeds to get them back into the Premier League.

That was a topic on the Phil Hay Show this week, with The Athletic reporter predicting that six Leeds wins would leave Fulham needing to produce a near-flawless run-in.

“I think that six wins would be about right on the basis of what clubs below them would have to do to stop them going up,” Hay told his podcast.

“At that point you get to talking about almost flawless form. 

“You’d be looking for Fulham to do what Slavisa Jokanovic used to do which was to pull the string and them to win about 12 games on the bounce – and before you know it they were up and into the play-offs.

“It’s that close now.”

This weekend, Leeds host Huddersfield Town in an intriguing West Yorkshire derby, whilst Fulham are on the road and travelling to Ashton Gate to take on Bristol City.

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The Verdict  

This looks like a fairly solid prediction and if you scan over the fixtures awaiting Marcelo Bielsa’s side, you can see where they might get the six victories from.

Four of the bottom five teams in the Championship have got to visit Elland Road between now and the end of the season, whilst Leeds take on just one of the top-six in Fulham.

Fulham’s run-in is a lot trickier, with Parker’s side banking on Leeds hitting another blip, which coincides with their trip to Elland Road, where three points in looking a must.

It’ll be interesting to see which of the two holds their nerve.

Thoughts? Let us know!