Brighton v Leeds United: The Peacocks view with The Scratching Shed

Leeds United have enjoyed quite a return to the Premier League after a 16 year absence. A top 10 finish is on the cards for Marcelo Bielsa and his players and as The Scratching Shed explain before their first visit to Brighton since 2016, such a lofty position was the stuff of dreams for most level headed Leeds fans at the start of the season.

Top flight football has already been assured for 2021-22, although Sheffield United act as a warning of the dangers of second-season syndrome.

Not many of the Elland Road faithful believe that such a fate could befall Leeds, with Bielsa several steps ahead of Chris Wilder in the management class and the rest of the Premier League yet to work out a way to cope with the Argentinian’s style of play.

The future looks very bright then. Before Brighton versus Leeds, David Wilkinson from The Scratching Shed takes us through the current season, his hopes for next season… oh, and a bloke called Ben White may have got a mention too.

Leeds have enjoyed a successful first season back in the Premier League, securing survival as routinely as you like. How happy are you with your campaign?
I never thought we would go straight back down, I sensed we would be too much for enough teams to keep us out of any real danger but I was expecting 14th-15th.

To be in the top half at this stage is beyond anything I’d dared to even dream of. It has been incredible and I am understandably delighted at what we have achieved. The only slight downer on it all is that we haven’t been able to attend but hopefully normal service is resumed next season.

What has been your best moment of the season? And your worst?
Beating Manchester City has to rank as the best moment for me. We are undefeated against the champions-elect, which isn’t something you really think possible as a newly-promoted side.

I went into both those games expecting us to get hammered and somehow we’ve come away with four points against the best side in the country.

Worst moment was the 6-2 defeat against Manchester United, which we will quickly move on from…

Sheffield United are the most reason example of second-season syndrome whereby the second year back in the top flight is often the hardest. What are your expectations for next season?
I honestly think we can push on from here. A lot has been said about defensive weakness, but what has often been missed is how injury plagued we have been in that area, particularly with the new arrivals.

We bought well last summer, our side has become far less naïve as the season progressed and provided Marcelo Bielsa stays, I don’t think we will suffer the same fate as Sheffield United.

Whilst we were buying Spanish internationals and a highly rated Brazilian winger in the summer, they were buying Championship players. It was almost like they had accepted the inevitability of relegation before a ball was kicked.

As soon as the winning momentum faded and top teams started to figure them out, they lacked the quality to win games. I don’t think we will be in any way comparable.

I guess we should mention Ben White. How is he viewed amongst the Leeds faithful now? You have coped pretty well without him!
I love him. We love him. He will get a very warm reception when fans are back and he plays at Elland Road again because he played such a huge part in getting us promoted and honestly seems like the nicest, most humble young lad.

Even if he never pulls on a Leeds shirt again, fans will not forget what he helped this club achieve. We have managed to replace him on the pitch, but there will always be a place in our hearts for Ben. I hope you are treating him well, we miss him terribly.

If you had to give Graham Potter one piece of advice for beating Leeds, what would it be?
Parking the bus seems to be the most effective tactic against us, but no one wants to see that… right?

Brighton enjoyed a pretty good afternoon last time we met, winning 1-0 at Elland Road in January. What did you make of the game that day?
Leeds 0-1 Brighton came in our worst spell of the season, we were lacklustre that day. I cannot recall us creating very much. We are in much better form at the minute having taken five points from three consecutive matches against the “big six” so hopefully it will be a better game.

Finally, what is the Scratching Shed prediction for Brighton v Leeds please?
It is tricky because I imagine Graham Potter should look at us and go defensive as we struggle to unlock deep lying teams. If Raphinha is back from injury, I think we will beat you, but I do not think there will be much in it either way.

Thanks to David for answering our questions. You can read all about the fine job Marcelo Bielsa has done at Leeds this season over on the Scratching Shed and don’t forget to give them a follow on Twitter, where you can remind David of his prediction in the event of a Brighton win at the Amex.