Daniel Farke answers Leicester City or Southampton question after Leeds United boost promotion hopes Delayed
Leicester City take on Southampton in a potential Championship promotion-decider tonight – Leeds United manager Daniel Farke was asked his favoured result
Leeds United manager Daniel Farke says he ‘does not mind’ who wins between Leicester City and Southampton on Tuesday evening.
The Championship promotion race remains as tight as ever heading into the final fixtures of the campaign. The Foxes occupy top spot, but only by one point now after Leeds saw off Middlesbrough 4-3 in a Monday night thriller.
Granted Enzo Maresca’s men have a game in hand on their rivals, as do third-place Ipswich Town, however Leicester’s comes in the form of a tie tonight with Southampton at the King Power Stadium. The Saints may have left their final push too late, though with three to go themselves mathematically they could yet sneak an automatic promotion spot.
That crunch clash kicks off at 8:00pm tonight, and so whilst Farke was in front of the camera, Sky Sports made sure to ask the boss’ opinion of who his preferred winner would be.
“No, I don’t mind, I am already just focused on our game at QPR [on Friday]. The fixture list is crazy we have right now,” he responded.
“Why ever we had a long break – 10 days without a game – and now two games within four days. First a Monday evening kick-off, why ever [has this happened]? We take it like it is, we have to make sure that we enjoy the game but on the way back on the coach we have to make sure we’re calmed down.
“Concentrate on good nutrition, good habits, good sleep, to make sure that we go again on Friday. That is the only thing that matters – we have to make sure that we win as many points as possible and we’ll see. We’ll just have to concentrate on ourselves.”
From that Leeds United perspective, a Leicester victory would probably be the worst outcome tonight. It would ensure the Foxes maintain the four-point gap between the two clubs ahead of two final matches against Preston, who have lost their last three, and Blackburn, who lost to 21st-placed Sheffield Wednesday on Sunday.
A preferable draw would see the gap extended to two points, though Leeds would then have the chance to pile the pressure on the other teams around them as their aforementioned match against QPR takes place ahead of the rest of the upcoming weekend’s fixtures. It would also practically end Southampton’s hopes of an automatic return to the Premier League.Finally, victory for Russell
Martin’s side would take them to within three points of second place – something Leeds cannot risk as the two clubs meet on the final day of the season. It would also leave Leicester susceptible to overtake from Ipswich Town, who have Hull City, Coventry City and Huddersfield Town yet to play.
