Whilst Leeds United's Premier League status for 22/23 is not mathematically secure at this stage, the Whites have built up a commanding lead over 18th placed Burnley in recent weeks. A run of ten points in Leeds' last four games saw a buffer of nine points grow between the two sides before Burnley played one of their games-in-hand on Easter Sunday.
The Clarets drew against West Ham and reduced the gap by one point but with Leeds already on 33 points, they know they need wins and not draws to catch up. As such, Leeds won't be counting their chickens before they're hatched but the club will be making plans for another season in the Premier League, unless something remarkable happens in the final games.
One team that Leeds may need to prepare to face are Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield Town. Should the Terriers find themselves back in the Premier League, that will take on extra significance as they have been excellently managed by a former Leeds coach in Carlos Corberan.
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The Spaniard - who managed Leeds' Under-23 side whilst also serving on Marcelo Bielsa's first-team coaching staff - left Elland Road to take up the managerial post at Huddersfield in the summer of 19/20. After a decent start at the John Smith's stadium, Corberan ultimately finished 20th in the Championship in his first season as a manager. Defending from crosses was a particular problem and the squad was built with a shoestring budget after the Terriers managed to rack up large debts from their time in the Premier League.
This season has been a different story though, as a remarkable run of form since Christmas has seen Huddersfield storm up the table to third place with only three games left to play. They are unlikely to catch Bournemouth in the final automatic promotion place, as the Cherries have a four point buffer with three games-in-hand. However, the Terries look set to come into the play-offs in good form, which could be crucial.
That run has seen Corberan's side win 11 of their last 20 games, losing only two of those. That feat is made all the more remarkable when assessing how the club have operated in the transfer market. Huddersfield have made 11 first-team signings this season but all of those were free transfers or loans. According to Transfermarkt, they rank 12th in the division when it comes to total market value of the first-team squad, so Corberan has them overperforming to a large degree in third place. Former Leeds transfer target, Lewis O'Brien has been a standard setter in Huddersfield's run up the table and looks like a player who will play in the Premier League next season, regardless of what happens at the end of this season.
Interestingly, whilst Corberan has worked under Bielsa, the Spaniard is very much his own man as a coach and has managed to gain an advantage in an area that his former boss didn't put much focus on during his time at Elland Road. Huddersfield do not have the same quality of individual attackers as some of the other teams chasing for the play-offs, so they have made up for that by leading the division when it comes to set-piece goals, with 19. In fact, a third of their goals have come from set-pieces.
Whether Leeds will meet Corberan's side in the Premier League remains to be seen, with work still to do for both teams. However, it's clear that the ex-Leeds coach's stock is rising. If he doesn't win promotion to the Premier League for next season, it doesn't seem like it will be long before somebody gives him a chance.
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