Leeds United vs West Ham United: Friday Night Football

Both Leeds and West Ham will be keen to get back to winning ways as they face off at Elland Road, with Marcelo Bielsa facing further defensive headaches following Robin Koch’s knee surgery.

The weekend’s first Premier League fixture sees two contrasting Friday night records, with West Ham losing each of their last three away Friday fixtures; whereas Leeds have never lost any of their previous top flight Friday games.

Often phenomena like this can’t help itself but to overwhelm all sense of form, but despite the well earned plaudits regarding the attacking play of Bielsa’s side, their defensive frailties are well documented and could be exacerbated by the injuries of Koch and Marcos Llorente.

Leeds have performed admirably so far and haven’t compromised their style of play for any opponent – a decision which has seen them drop to 14th in the league. The Yorkshire club have also conceded 20 goals from 11 games so far, compared to 35 from 46 Championship matches last season.

The continued absence of West Ham forward Michail Antonio will serve as some relief for Bielsa, but Sebastien Haller seems to be finding his form in recent fixtures under the David Moyes resurgence.

The Hammers were decidedly unlucky in their defeat to Manchester United last time out, where there were opportunities to kill off the game before the inevitability of Bruno Fernandes.

Moyes’ team’s away form will also give him cause for optimism; having only lost twice from their last eight away games. West Ham will be expected to fly out of the blocks again to capitalise on Leed’s league-high 11 first half goals conceded.

In a campaign where the unexpected and unknown underpins much of what is set to transpire, both sides have bought into this rhetoric in their own ways.

The Irons begun the season with a worrying performance and result to match against Newcastle, after what seemed like a pre-season (if you can call it that) of turmoil in regards to a lack of recruitment and the treatment of pre-existing players. However, since Moyes’ COVID suffering West Ham have excelled despite a particularly difficult start, providing reason for optimism for both Moyes and fans.

Leeds buy into the unexpected narrative by simply being Leeds. By leaving everything out on the pitch they look just as likely to win any game they’ve fallen short in with their incredibly high work rate, often providing high rewards. If Bielsa can somehow treat the defensive wounds left by potential top flight naivety – and injuries – then there really is no predicting where they may finish this term.

Either way, this match-up poses a tantalising mixture of uncertainty and excellence where goals are definitely guaranteed.

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