Gary Neville debates Leeds United’s survival chances

Television pundit and commentator Gary Neville has spoken about the survival chances of Jesse Marsch’s Leeds side this season.

As per LeedsLive, the former Manchester United defender feels the Whites’ will scrape through this season, much in the same fashion as they did last term, narrowly avoiding the drop on the final day with a win at Brentford. However, the same problems persist this season with the team shipping goals at an average of roughly two per game. The need for defensive reinforcements is clear to see, even though they have signed Max Wober, they still need to add more quality to their ranks.

Neville said, “For Leeds, it’s a little precarious. I think it will probably continue to be like that for the rest of the season, but I think they will just be okay.”

Sloppy defending and individual mistakes were the issues again last night when Jesse Marsch’s men lost out 2-1 at Aston Villa. Although the visitors were the better side, that doesn’t put points on the board. Leon Bailey turned Pascal Struijk inside-out at every opportunity and the manner in which the Whites conceded goals was suspect yet again. A fast breakaway from a Leeds corner allowed Bailey the freedom of Villa Park to curl into the net after just three minutes, giving the away side an uphill task before they had even got going. The second was poor defending from Struijk and although the rebound was fortuitous, it shouldn’t have been allowed to get that far in the first place.

Gary Neville gives verdict on Leeds United’s Premier League survival chances https://t.co/Xfx2twk7vU

— Leeds United Live (@liveleedsunited) January 14, 2023

Although Marsch was upbeat about the performance, his side is still sitting precariously above the relegation zone, with many not seeing any improvement from the Bielsa side that conceded in much the same way.

Leeds will welcome Cardiff City to Elland Road on Wednesday in their FA Cup third-round replay before Brentford visit West Yorkshire on the Following Sunday.

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