Leicester City and Leeds United face off this Friday in a fixture which has significance at the pinnacle of the table.
The two relegated sides meet for the first time this season, with one being the overwhelming favourite.
It is third-placed Leeds taking on first-placed Leciester, despite Leeds being closer in points to 21st-place Huddersfield.
A win for Enzo Maresca‘s side would see them move 17 points clear of them and probably make it too much to recover from. Especially considering the talent he has at his disposal.
Therefore it is a must-win for Leeds, as without some proper strong performances, Leicester could have promotion wrapped up by Christmas.
Matt Piper on Leicester v Leeds
Speaking on the BBC’s When You’re Smiling Podcast, Matt Piper explained:
“I think with Leeds being in third place and already sort of 14 points adrift of our position, there is more on this game just because of the psychological aspect.
“I know this is early in the season, but if you have a good performance and beat Leeds, the rest of the division will be thinking ‘wow’.
“There is more of a psychological aspect to this game than just three points.”
Promotion deciding fixture?
It sounds ludicrous this early in the season but a win for Leicester against Leeds could effectively make promotion all but a foregone conclusion.
If the Foxes win, they’ll potentially be just three points from a 20-point gap, and given how dominant we’ve looked this season already, dropping more than 20 points seems unlikely.
This makes Friday huge and more important than most games, however in the unlikely event points are dropped, Leicester will remain streets ahead.