Southampton moved above Leeds United into second place in the Championship with a 2-0 victory over bottom club Rotherham United at the weekend.
Don Goodman, a Sky Sports commentator, believes Southampton will beat Leeds United and Ipswich Town for automatic promotion. The Saints moved ahead of the Whites into second place after a comfortable 2-0 win over Championship strugglers Rotherham United.
Jan Bednarek and Adam Armstrong scored in the first half to extend Southampton’s club record unbeaten streak to 21 games. It was their seventh win in the last eight league games.
United remain third in the standings, one point behind the Saints but having played one more game, while Ipswich Town dropped to fourth after losing 3-2 at Preston North End. “It’s all coming together now, and there’s a clear battle for second place between Ipswich, Southampton, and Leeds,” Goodman told MOT Leeds News.
“We’ve seen a remarkable improvement from Southampton. They are convincingly outperforming teams. If I’m being honest, I’d put them as favourites to finish in the top two, ahead of Leeds.
“Leeds must continue to apply pressure because pressure may produce unexpected results, as we witnessed when Leeds defeated Ipswich.
“All Leeds can do is continue chasing them down. The difference for me is that Southampton is putting on convincing performances. Leeds, like Ipswich, may occasionally be unconvincing. At this point, I believe most people would support Southampton.
“How will they respond when they face hardship and lose a game, when their unbeaten streak comes to an end? Only then will we find out.
United take a respite from their promotion drive tomorrow night when they face Plymouth Argyle in the FA Cup. The winner of the fourth-round replay will face Chelsea or Aston Villa in the competition’s final 16.
