Posh and Becks set to visit Leeds Matt Burton April 14, 2012 Leeds United Roll out the red carpet or gather the rotten tomatoes, whether you like it or not Posh and Becks are set to grace our fine city with their presence over the coming few weeks. However, before you start a frantic search for your camera and autograph book, allow me to explain… The long suffering, faithful supporters who have (against all their better judgement) ventured to every Leeds United home match this season will soon be put out of their misery as the end of the season approaches. Just two more agonising afternoons of Elland Road football remain, with the visit of Peterborough (conveniently nicknamed ‘Posh’) and the end of season party when we entertain Leicester City (and our former legend Jermaine ‘Becks’ Beckford). So, what are the home faithful to expect from these two encounters? Peterborough currently sit 17th in the division, and (much like Leeds) have very little to play for except pride this season. Having entered The Championship in a blaze of glory following victory in the 2011 League 1 play-off final, Darren Ferguson’s men will surely be satisfied to have consolidated their place in the division. When the two teams met at London Road earlier in the season, a 95th minute winner secured a 3-2 victory and a 7th consecutive unbeaten league match for Simon Grayson’s men. Neil Warnock has strongly indicated that this match will see starting roles for fringe players, with speculation pointing towards the likes of Billy Paynter, Mikael Forssell and Ramon Nunez. If these individuals truly are ‘playing for their futures’ then we may see some very spirited performances, but passion and drive has all too often manifested itself in pointless red cards over recent weeks. With a group of players taking to the field under a weight of pressure to ‘prove themselves’, don’t be surprised if tomorrow sees a fourth consecutive match in which a Leeds player is heading for an early bath. If I were to make a prediction, I think the Peterborough match will be a hotly-contested battle, lacking in skilful artistry. A goalless draw, with at least one sending off. The final match of the season will again be a completely meaningless occasion for Leeds, when the only target may be a top half finish (though I fear even that may be out of reach). On the other hand, Leicester may be fighting for a play-off spot, especially if they take maximum points from their winnable matches against Millwall and Burnley. The Foxes seem to have been in mid-table for the entirety of the season, but are quickly emerging as dark horses for 6th position. Following the early-season sacking of Sven Goran Eriksson (who would subsequently put in an application for the Elland Road hotseat), Nigel Pearson has slowly turned them into a team on the up. With a strike force of one-time-England player David Nugent and Leeds legend Jermaine Beckford, Leicester carry a very strong goal threat and (most worryingly for Lees and O’Dea) a lot of pace. The encounter back in November saw Leeds beat then-managerless Leicester 1-0 on their own patch, with Adam Clayton placing a long range finish beyond another old-boy, Kasper Schmeichel. The match will, of course, mark the first return to Elland Road of Luciano Becchio’s former partner in crime. Beckford will always have a place in hearts of Leeds United fans after scoring the two most important goals of the last decade against Bristol Rovers and Manchester United. It is destiny that he will bag a brace on April 28th. If Leicester are still in the hunt for 6th place, I predict a comfortable 3-1 victory for them. Having beaten both Posh and Becks in the corresponding away matches, it is yet another indication of how far we have fallen that we are likely to take very little from the home encounters. It pains me to envisage that Leeds will only take 1 point from the two remaining home matches, but I am a realist. In reality, this season ended a long time ago.