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Tuesday evening sees Leeds UInited play their second game in the space of three days as they travel to The Hawthorns to face West Bromwich Albion, writes @jonnychick__.
Leeds returned to winning ways last time out, securing a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Burnley at Elland Road on Sunday. A Patrick Bamford penalty was enough to separate the two sides - a perfect response after their heavy 6-2 defeat to rivals Manchester United away at Old Trafford the previous week.
The three points moved Leeds up to 12th in the Premier League table on 20 points, nine points above the relegation zone. No newly-promoted side has ever been relegated having won as many as 20 points from their opening 15 games of a Premier League season.
Sunday's win puts Leeds in good stead heading into their last fixture of the calendar year on Tuesday evening. The Whites are ending 2020 the same way they started it, with a trip to the Hawthorns to face West Brom. Leeds will be hoping to end what has been a historic year on a high.
Striker Patrick Bamford has now scored 10 goals after just 15 Premier League games, the most a player for a newly promoted club has scored at this stage of the season since 1999/2000. The striker will no doubt be looking to add to his tally on Tuesday.
Bamford has scored against West Brom in a Leeds shirt before. In the 2018/19 Championship campaign, he scored a brace in a 4-0 victory for the Whites at Elland Road, and last season he headed home the equalising goal in a 1-1 draw at the Hawthorns on New Years Day.
As it is the time of year where the fixtures are crammed together, Premier League managers will likely be making changes to their teams. However, Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa is someone who doesn't like to rotate his squad.
Last season, when Leeds had two games in the space of four days, Bielsa named the same starting line-up in both. You would fully expect him to name the same side that beat Burnley for the match against West Brom if there are no new injury concerns.
Meanwhile, West Brom picked up an unlikely point on Sunday, drawing 1-1 with defending Premier League champions Liverpool at Anfield. Semi Ajayi headed home late on to earn the Baggies their first point under manager Sam Allardyce.
Allardyce replaced Slaven Bilić at the helm after West Brom's 1-1 draw away at Manchester City. The Croatian had only registered seven points from their opening 13 games.
Despite their tremendous point against Liverpool last time out, West Brom sit 19th in the table and five points from safety. The Baggies are the third lowest scorers in the division and have conceded 30 goals this season, the joint-most alongside Leeds United.
However, the top sides in the league have struggled to break down West Brom's resilient back-line. Both Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have only beaten the Baggies by a goal to nil, and they have also picked up draws against Chelsea, Manchester City, and Liverpool.
With the two worst defences going head to head, goals will be expected in this game.
Team news
The Whites however are still without 27-year-old defender Diego Llorente. The Spain international suffered a setback in training following a recent muscle strain.
Club captain Liam Cooper is again expected to miss out with an abdominal strain while fellow central defender Robin Koch is a long-term absentee.
Elsewhere, West Brom are still without midfielder Jake Livermore who is serving the second game of a three-match suspension.
Injured Baggies trio Hal Robson-Kanu, Kyle Bartley, and Conor Townsend all look set to miss out.
Previous meetings
- West Brom have lost just one of the last six league meetings at The Hawthorns, winning four and drawing once.
- The two clubs have only faced each other just twice in the Premier League, in the 2002/03 season. Leeds United were unbeaten on both occasions, winning one and drawing one.
- In recent years, the Whites have come out on top, remaining unbeaten in the last three meetings with West Brom, winning twice and drawing once.
Match information
West Bromwich Albion vs. Leeds United
English Premier League
18:00 Tuesday 29th December 2020
The Hawthorns
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