Chris Sutton has labelled Leeds United's relegations rivals Southampton as "useless" and stated that Everton have "the toughest fixtures to come"; while former Tottenham midfielder Sebastien Bassong claimed that the Whites hold an advantage over clubs such as Crystal Palace and Wolves who are "not ready" for a relegation battle.
Leeds are currently sat 19th in the Premier League with 12 games remaining. However, just five points separate Southampton in 20th and Crystal Palace in 12th.
Javi Gracia's side find themselves just four points off the Eagles and this is something that Bassong feels can benefit the West Yorkshire side ahead of the relegation run-in.
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"Look at the table and the way the season is going," Bassong told BBC's Monday Night Club. "I find it interesting because there's not much difference between the [bottom] teams. But what I find disappointing is the inability to sustain form for some of the teams.
"And according to the seriousness of the situation - because we're talking about the relegation battle - I think there are some teams down there that are not ready for that [relegation fight].
"They couldn't see it [the relegation battle] coming so they didn't mentally prepare to have this kind of fight. And that's what might let them down later down the line.
"I reckon it is in a way," he added when asked if it's easier to fight against relegation when you're already at the foot of the table, rather than in 12th place. "There's not much that will surprise you, you know who your opponent is, you know what kind of emotion you're going to face, what kind of battle you're going to focus on.
"It doesn't guarantee you to stay in the league, but at least you don't have to chase different objectives and targets when you can be really specific about what you're trying to achieve, no matter if it's up there or down there. It is much easier for you to achieve what you're looking for.
"When you are in a team and you start the season, you have different aspirations, you want to maybe play mid-table or if you get on a good momentum you're looking for maybe Europe and for some reason you find yourself halfway through the season down there. You didn't get prepared. And that's these kinds of moments might let you down."
Meanwhile Sutton believes that of the bottom nine clubs, only Crystal Palace should not be concerned about relegation despite the recent poor form from the Eagles.
He added: "There's normally a team cut adrift by now or virtually down....The team I'm not worried about is Crystal Palace, they are playing eight of the bottom nine, they are playing teams in around them. And not that you can look at history but they've got a pretty good record against teams in the bottom half.
"And with them [Palace] there's a little bit of a gap, they have the most points, 27. It's so congested, but it's still a game and a bit [of a points difference between themselves and Southampton in last].
"In terms of the run-in, they have teams in and around [them] and the gentlest fixtures. We know what the problem is with Crystal Palace, I don't think they've had a shot on target in the last three games. But I think that this season, they've been a different Palace team - I think Conor Gallagher was a big loss - at this moment in time they're playing with a fair bit of uncertainty, but I still think that they have talented players.
"[Michaell] Olise, [Wilfried] Zaha can get them out of trouble. I think Everton are really interesting in this because I think we would all feel that they have gathered great momentum, but actually, they've probably got the toughest fixtures to come and I think they've got a game less as well.
"There's sort of a bit of a fortress at Goodison [Park], but they've got some tough home fixtures: Spurs, Fulham, Newcastle, Manchester City. Wolves and Bournemouth are the ones you're thinking are a really good opportunity, but they're actually going alright.
"Teams like Southampton, 12 games left, they've got seven at home. They've been useless at home. They've got more points away from home this season. So there are all sorts of issues which you can look at with all teams [in the relegation battle]."
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