Like the senior Leeds United side, Mark Jackson’s U23s are locked in a relegation battle as they look to secure survival in Premier League 2. The young Whites are currently outside of the relegation places by four points but Chelsea U23s below them have a game-in-hand.
Leeds’ final two games of the season are two of their toughest of the season as they face champions elect Manchester City at Elland Road on Friday evening before visiting third-placed Arsenal in the last match of the campaign. They will be hoping that they can go into both of those without having to pick up maximum points but Chelsea’s fixtures are considerably more favourable.
The Blues face Brighton (8th), Blackburn (10th) and Tottenham (6th) in their final trio of games, a run which should yield at least a few points to pile the pressure on Leeds. While the situation for Jackson’s side looks bleak, it must be remembered that he often hasn’t had his best players available due to their involvement in first-team matters.
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In an ideal world, he would have been able to use players like Joe Gelhardt, Sam Greenwood, Crysencio Summerville and Charlie Cresswell in many more games. By the same stretch, those players have shown that there is a clear pathway to the senior squad at Leeds which can be shown to prospective new signings being brought into the development squads.
But, before Jackson and the rest of the U23 staff can worry about, they must do everything they can to keep Leeds in Premier League 2. The clash with Man City on Friday will prove a very tough test but the youngsters will be backed by thousands of supporters inside Elland Road.
As of Friday night, 12,000 tickets had been sold with the club looking to break the division record set by Everton (17,000) in May 2017. With prices set at £6 for adults and £3 for concessions and with almost a week before the game, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to see that record smashed by Leeds fans.
The extra backing of another few thousand fans could be the difference between a draw and a win which could, in turn, be the difference between relegation and survival.
