The Premier League is now within reach for Leeds United, who last played top-flight football back in season 2003/04. The Whites head into Thursday evening’s home game against Yorkshire rivals Barnsley six points clear of third-placed Brentford in the fight for automatic promotion.
A win would not quite be enough for Leeds to seal promotion unless the Bees fail to win their next game against Preston on Wednesday night.
A slip up from Thomas Farke’s men and a Leeds win would then mean Marcelo Bielsa’s team returns to the Premier League.
Leeds have looked close to a return to the promised land of English football before in recent seasons. However, this time it seems that promotion is now only a matter of time.
The home side head into this local derby on the back of a five-game unbeaten run in the Championship, having recorded four wins. Leeds recent form at Elland Road has also been strong, as they have recorded wins in five of their last six league games on home soil.
Despite being bottom of the Championship, Barnsley goes into this derby match just three points from safety. A three-game winless has not helped their cause, especially as two of those games were against teams just above them in the table.
A record of just two wins in their previous eight games in the Championship has not helped either.
Barnsley have an inconsistent recent away record in the Championship, having recorded just three wins in their last ten league matches on their travels. Their recent record in head-to-head meetings with Leeds is poor too, as they have won just one of the last seven meetings with the Whites, suffering five defeats in the process.
Forebet predicts that Leeds will record a comfortable win in a high-scoring encounter to record what could be a massive result.