Southampton manager Russell Martin has given his prediction on who will win when Leeds United face Queens Park Rangers tonight.
The Saints are now all but out of the automatic promotion picture after Tuesday night’s 5-0 humiliation at Leicester City, but could still have a big say in the race with a trip to Leeds on the final day next week.
Leeds will be looking to pile the pressure on Ipswich Town ahead of their two games in hand at Hull and Coventry City by making it back-to-back wins at the most crucial time.
Having picked up just five points from as many matches after the international break, Leeds returned to winning ways with a dramatic 4-3 win at Middlesbrough on Monday night.
But with the top two not actually in their hands, Leeds know that nothing other than a win will do this evening against a QPR side who are all but safe for another season.
Martin predicts who will win when Leeds face QPR
Southampton boss Martin was speaking in his pre-match press conference ahead of his side’s game with Stoke City at St. Mary’s tomorrow.
With the top two now gone, all Saints can do in their final two matches is look to build some momentum ahead of the play-offs, having lost both of their last two.
After their performance at Leicester on Tuesday, many people will now be thinking Southampton have thrown in the towel ahead of the play-offs but they will be keen to avoid such accusations.
In fact, Martin actually believes next weekend’s fixture at Elland Road can be ‘brilliant preparation’ for the play-offs by looking to stop Leeds in a must win game, as he assumes the Whites will pick up three points tonight.
He said: “I am presuming Leeds will win this weekend and need to beat us to get promoted, which is brilliant preparation for us. But these two games are not just about preparation, they are about winning.”
David Prutton and Ben Parker predict QPR vs Leeds
Martin is not the only member of the footballing world expecting Leeds to win tonight, with both David Prutton and Ben Parker having shared their predictions.
Prutton does not believe QPR will setup in the same way Boro did on Monday that almost made for a ‘basketball’ game, but thinks Leeds will win 2-1.
Parker, meanwhile, is predicting Leeds to secure their first clean sheet since before the international break with a nice 2-0 victory.