Leeds approached Saturday’s huge relegation-battle six-pointer at home to Southampton having gone ten Premier League games without a victory, six of which had ended in defeat. Jesse Marsch was sacked as head coach following the 1-0 defeat at Nottingham Forest at the start of the month and managerless Leeds then plummeted into the division’s drop zone through last weekend’s 1-0 loss at Everton which left the Whites second-bottom and only a point and a place above the rock-bottom Saints.
But the Whites then moved to appoint former Watford boss Javi Gracia as the club’s new head coach on Tuesday and the Spaniard enjoyed instant success at the weekend as a 1-0 win at home to Southampton lifted the Whites out of the bottom three and up to 17th place.
Leeds jumped back above Everton who were dealt a big blow in suffering a 2-0 loss at home to Aston Villa on Saturday and the Whites also leapfrogged Bournemouth who were blitzed 4-1 by title-chasing visitors Manchester City.
Slightly higher up the table, there was also a huge blow for Nottingham Forest who were hammered 4-0 at West Ham United whilst a Leicester City side far from safe were also beaten 1-0 by league leading visitors Arsenal.
Based on the odds for relegation, Leeds were predicted to go down in 18th place following their defeat at Everton but the forecast has now changed and this is where the Whites are now envisaged to end up based on the very latest odds for both the drop and for the title to determine the top sides. Leeds are now one point ahead of the drop zone.
