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Danny Bloomer

Leeds United news as pundit issues relegation claim and Beckford discusses Whites' confidence

Here are the latest Leeds United morning headlines on Wednesday, April 27.

Savage claim

Pundit Robbie Savage has claimed Leeds United remain in real trouble this season due to their upcoming fixtures. The Whites currently sit 16th in the table and five points ahead of the bottom three but have arguably the trickiest run in of the three teams fighting for survival.

Jesse Marsch’s side play three of the top four in back-to-back matches, with Manchester City, Arsenal and Chelsea to come. Speaking on BBC Radio 5Live, Savage insisted Leeds are nowhere near out of it.

He said: “It is impossible Villa will go down but not impossible Leeds will go down. Leeds might go down – when I looked at the Premier League table and saw their next three games… Wow, they are right in it. You can see momentum with Burnley with seven points from nine but Leeds – wow.”

READ MORE: Leeds United attention on season-changing hope is irresistible as pressure cranks up

Beckford on City

Leeds United host title chasing Manchester City at Elland Road on Saturday night with the Whites on their longest unbeaten run of the season. Former Leeds striker, Jermaine Beckford has claimed that the run will have given Jesse Marsch's team 'confidence' that they can cause an upset against heavy favourites on the weekend.

Beckford was speaking on the Premier League's feed, after Leeds' 0-0 draw against Crystal Palace at Selhurst Park. He said: "It’s brilliant [Leeds’ run] going into all of those games.

"Especially the Man City game at home. You have to go into that with some kind of confidence. It’s five games unbeaten now. A couple of clean sheets back-to-back going into a home game.

"Elland Road is a really tricky place to go. It’s really intimidating for the opposition as well. Manchester City are arguably one of the two or three best teams in the world at the moment but they still have to go there and play and win. They know they’re going to come up against a Leeds United team that’s going to get right in their faces."

Unlocking Raphinha

One of the biggest changes in Leeds United's style of play since Jesse Marsch took over as manager from Marcelo Bielsa has been the way the team approach playing with width. Under Bielsa, Leeds looked to make the pitch as wide as possible and wingers Raphinha, Jack Harrison or Daniel James would be given space to run into.

Marsch prefers to keep the team narrow, looking to attack the centre of the penalty area and compacting the space by bringing the attackers closer together to combine. However, Leeds are currently attempting to do that with players who are not only used to playing wide because they were set up to do so under Bielsa, but also because it is their natural tendency to do so, having played as wingers for all of their careers.

Read more here.

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