Incredible 77-game Championship record Leeds United hold that could seal promotion to the Premier League

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Leeds United beat Middlesbrough 1-0 on Tuesday night to collect a huge three points for Daniel Farke’s side in their pursuit of Championship glory.

There have been some signs of Leeds falling apart but the win over Middlesbrough was one of the biggest of the season and at a crucial juncture with just five games to go, especially given what happened elsewhere in midweek in the Championship.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LeedsLeeds	41	24	13	4	80	28	52	85
2	BurnleyBurnley	41	23	16	2	55	12	43	85
3	Sheff UtdSheffield Utd	41	26	7	8	56	31	25	83
4	SunderlandSunderland	41	21	13	7	57	37	20	76
5	Bristol CityBristol City	41	16	15	10	53	44	9	63
6	CoventryCoventry	41	18	8	15	58	53	5	62
7	MiddlesbroughMiddlesbrough	41	17	9	15	61	50	11	60

Going into the game, Leeds had won just one in six, and appeared to be throwing away their chance at securing the Championship title. But Dan James shone against Boro and was one of the crucial elements Farke needed at The Riverside

Daniel Farke’s side will be desperate to avoid the play-offs again and have the most favourable run-in of the teams left in the automatic promotion mix as well. It’s a race which experts are expecting to go to the wire and the final day of the season.

• READ MORE: Sky Sports pundit makes claim involving Leeds United, Burnley, and Sheffield United to get ‘over the line’

Leeds United set Championship record under Daniel Farke

Pundits believe Burnley have been playing the best football in the league recently amid worrying stats emerging regarding Leeds’ promotion hopes and Sky Sports pundits having ‘serious concerns’, too.

The Whites have a real habit of both late and early goals this ter. No team has scored more than Leeds’ 14 in the opening 15 minutes of the match, and no side has more than their 22 goals from the 76th minute onwards, either.

This was not a late showing at The Riverside, with James scoring the first and only goal of the game after just two minutes. These fast starts are providing a platform for Leeds to go out and claim victory, given the strength of their defence for most of the season.

Leeds have the second-highest number of clean sheets, the second fewest goals against after Burnley, but also the best xG against figure of 28.8 — which is 4.2 better than the Clarets. Therefore, it’s perhaps not surprising that they are able to win a healthy amount of points and games when taking the lead.

As the above from Opta’s Jonny Cooper shows, it could be the foundation for their promotion this season. It dates back to Leeds’ campaigns under Marcelo Bielsa as well, having won 68 and drawn nine of their last 77 Championship matches when taking the lead first.

It’s also an all-time record, and one Leeds fans will be hoping remains in the last five games of the season. The only negative is that three of those nine draws have come more recently. In the last ten league games Daniel Farke’s side have taken the lead, three of them ended level.

They are the 2-2 with Swansea City, 1-1 with West Brom, and the 1-1 with Blackburn Rovers — all of which came at Elland Road, with the nerves of the crowd perhaps somewhat impacting performance levels of late.

Still, it could and perhaps should be the key to unlocking promotion in these final five fixtures of the season. Prior to this less convincing ten-game spell, Leeds won 14 in a row when taking the lead. That level of relentlessness is and inevitability is what they now require for just five more games.

• READ MORE: Daniel Farke is already above Marcelo Bielsa and Don Revie with Leeds United manager record

Patrick Bamford could be Leeds’ saviour

Leeds have some of the best players in the Championship, including players who cannot get a game at the moment from the bench. Largie Ramazani has match-winning qualities but has seldom been able to showcase it since the turn of the year.

They need to avoid draws in the run-in, while also taking advantage of their home form. Elland Road has been a fortress, taking 49 points from 20 games. That is four more than Sheffield United, who have played a game more at Bramall Lane.

Opta have a supercomputer which is predicting a surprise outcome now for some. Leeds have wobbled recently but the win over Boro could be just what is needed to kickstart their season once more at a crucial point in the season. Opta believe Leeds have a 91.46% chance of automatic promotion of any kind.

The other factor that could drag them over the line is more rotation. No matter what, Leeds need to get Patrick Bamford into their side as quickly as possible again. Joel Piroe has blanked in his last seven league outings and his general play isn’t strong enough to be in the team.

Bamford, on the other hand, had a perfectly legitimate goal ruled out for offside and looks up for the fight. His fitness issues are a concern, but it is just a five-game stretch now, with Bamford’s ability to pin and act as a focal point perhaps the most vital thing needed for Leeds’ performance levels to shoot up.

He’s more than just given Farke food for thought in his recent cameos from the bench. The 31-year-old has staked a serious claim to be Leeds’ saviour in these final games. One last dance.