Noel Whelan has no doubt that Leeds United's conquerors Derby County will lose in the Championship playoff final against Aston Villa.
Leeds were heavily tipped to seal a spot at Wembley on Wednesday night as they carried a 1-0 aggregate advantage into the second leg of their tie with the Rams.
But a 4-2 loss at Elland Road means it is now Derby who will take on Aston Villa at Wembley later this month and not Leeds.
Whelan though is not expecting Derby to have the last laugh and is confident Dean Smith's Aston Villa will beat Frank Lampard's men.
"Oh, Aston Villa will win", Whelan remarked on BBC Radio Leeds after the game at Elland Road.
"That's the thing, they are a much better side than Derby."
Leeds' playoff clash against Derby was a spicy affair, with the spygate saga hanging over the tie.
At the final whistle, Derby's players looked through pretend binoculars at their fans, mocking Leeds for sending a spy to watch them train.
Leeds had beaten Derby in all three encounters prior to Wednesday's game.
