Eng. Championship
2019-02-02 - Leeds United vs Norwich City
A Sports Betting Pick by Auls
Football: English Championship
Saturday 2nd February 2019 - Kick Off 5:30pm
This game is live on TV
Leeds United
Things have just been a little rocky for Leeds United on and off the pitch over the last few weeks so it was vital for them to come from a goal behind and beat Rotherham United last weekend in a Yorkshire derby. It was a win that keeps them clear of the chasing pack in the Championship and also gives Leeds United some momentum to take into a tough month as far as the schedule goes.
The three points earned at the New York Stadium keeps Leeds United top of the Championship and they are 3 points clear of their visitors this weekend while being 6 points clear of Yorkshire rivals Sheffield United. Plenty of points are still to be played for so Leeds United have to keep the wins coming as they look to improve a 9-3-2 record at Elland Road in the League.
Leeds United had lost 4 of 5 games in all competitions and were then trailing at Rotherham United which underlines how important it was for them to turn things around last Saturday. The majority of those losses had come away from home too, but Leeds United are back at Elland Road this weekend where they have won 5 of their last 6 League games to stay ahead of their promotion chasing rivals.
Norwich City
A number of the top teams in the Championship have had a tough time in January and Norwich City are another one of those although like Leeds United they have remained ahead of the chasing pack for automatic promotion. There would still have been some disappointment in failing to hold onto a lead twice against Sheffield United last weekend, but The Canaries have to pick themselves up and go again.
The point earned against Sheffield United means Norwich City are 3 points behind leaders Leeds United and remain only 3 points ahead of The Blades in 3rd place who also play earlier in the day on Saturday. The Canaries have been tough to beat away from home all season and have a 6-7-1 record on their travels in the Championship heading into this huge League game.
Norwich City have won 1 of their last 7 games in all competitions, but they are also unbeaten in 3 coming into this fixture. They are unbeaten in 7 away games in the League, but 4 of the last 5 have been draws and in 3 of the last 4 they have needed to score inside the last 12 minutes to earn a point.
Head to Head
Leeds United thumped Norwich City 0-3 at Carrow Road earlier this season.
Last season Leeds United beat Norwich City 1-0 at home, but they had not won any of 4 games at Elland Road against them prior to that. 3 of those 4 games had ended in draws.
Prediction
By far the biggest game of the weekend in the Championship comes from Elland Road and it is no surprise that the television cameras have rocked up to offer coverage of the top two teams in the Division facing one another.
Even at this stage of the season there is so much on the line and you can imagine this is going to be a pivotal weekend as far as the automatic promotion places go.
Leaders Leeds United come into the fixture with a 3 point lead over Norwich City in 2nd place and a win would surely open up a margin that would put them in command of finishing with one of the two automatic promotion positions in the table.
However a defeat would see Norwich City level up on points and prolong a poor run of form for Leeds United which would have some wondering if another late season collapse is coming up from the Yorkshire giants.
There are a host of clubs not too far away from these two clubs at the top of the table and I think the managers will understand how important it is for them to earn a result. Both play good football, but the onus is on Leeds United to get forward at home and I think this should be a good, open game between the top two teams in the Championship.
Neither team has been featuring in a lot of high-scoring games of late, but I think the importance of the points on the line can help open up this fixture. I will back at least three goals to be shared out by the top two teams in a huge fixture this weekend.
The Pick :
Leeds United 2-1 Norwich City
FIXED ODDS BETTING TIP :
I'll back Over 2.5 Goals @ 1.72 PaddyPower
