Leeds United have an outside chance of finishing inside the top two by the end of the 2023/24 campaign, with Leicester City and Ipswich Town still the favourites to go up, according to Opta.
The Peacocks have fully settled into life in the Championship, having been relegated from the Premier League last term. After a ropey start to the season, the Yorkshire club are now flying, with five wins and one draw from their last six league outings.
The Whites even earned a huge 1-0 win away at the King Power Stadium against league-leaders Leicester, with Georginio Rutter’s second-half strike gaining his side some valuable ground on the Foxes.
Furthermore, only Ipswich have managed to score more goals in the Championship this season than Daniel Farke’s men who have boasted 12 different goalscorers in total, including four with six or more goals.
Additionally, no team has picked up more points over their last five matches than Leeds with 13, joint with Southampton during this timespan.
An inconsistent start to the season has left Farke’s side playing a game of catch-up with the two sides above them, but now sit just seven points off second place and eight points off the top.
Opta have released their updated Championship projections today which give Leeds a 4.3% chance of winning the league title and a 27.1% chance of going up in second.
The latest Championship season projections… pic.twitter.com/ArZx2p3SdH
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) December 5, 2023
In contrast, Leicester City have an 84.1% chance of finishing first and just a 2.8% chance of ending the season outside the top two, while Kieran McKenna’s side have a 10.1% chance of lifting the title and 43.2% chance of finishing in second.
Writer’s View
The data is based on projections from current form and performances this season so far. However, the statistics change all the time and one or two injuries to Ipswich Town or Leicester City could swing the numbers in Leeds United’s favour once more.
There is still a lot of football left to play, although there is no margin for error for the Peacocks to drop any more points given how far ahead the top two are.
Deputy Head of Writing
