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Four changes for Leeds. Lucas Perri starts in goal, Jaka Bijol, Noah Okafor and Ao Tanaka in for Karl Darlow, Pascal Struijk, Anton Stach and Jack Harrison, all benched. Darlow actually played OK v Burnley so that one is something of a shock decision.
Nobody played OK for West Ham on Monday but only two changes made, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf in for Kyle Walker-Peters and Mateus Fernandes, one summer signing in, two out. Which says a lot for the summer business.
ShareWill Unwin
t is a chilly night at Elland Road as Leeds enter a very difficult period of the season. They lost last time out at Burnley and their November fixtures see them travel to Brighton, Nottingham Forest and Manchester City, with their only home clash coming against Aston Villa. This feels like a game Leeds need to win, having not secured maximum points in over a month.
West Ham are in a relegation battle and Nuno Espirito Santo knows it. This looks a poor side short on confidence and he needs to return things around quickly. There were positive signs in his first game in charge at Everton but losses to Arsenal and Brentford will have done little to boost the confidence. A big win under the lights tonight could ignite his tenure.
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The teams
Leeds: Lucas Perri, Bogle, Rodon, Bijol, Gudmundsson, Longstaff, Ampadu, Tanaka, Aaronson, Calvert-Lewin, Okafor. Subs: Darlow, Gruev, Justin, Harrison, Stach, Nmecha, Piroe, James, Struijk.
West Ham: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Scarles, Soucek, Bowen, Irving, Summerville, Diouf, Lucas Paqueta. Subs: Marshall, Potts, Magassa, Rodriguez, Fernandes, Wilson, Igor, Walker-Peters, Hermansen.
Referee: Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire)
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Daniel Farke’s pre-match thoughts:
“I didn’t like their game on Monday because after such a game they will be even more determined. They have a very experienced approach.
“There is no added pressure. At this level, every game has pressure, and so far we have played huge games. We look forward to these games and it’s why we have worked our socks off in the last 24 months.
“It’s always important for newly established Premier League sides to make their home a fortress. If you look at the teams who have survived, they had really good home records, which is what we want to do.
“Therefore, he wants his side to start quickly: “We need to be good in our pressing and to play as dominant as possible.”
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Some Nuno quotes from his pre-match press conference.
“It is up to us to connect the fans. It is up to us that the fans go to the stadium and see something they enjoy. It is on our side.
“They were rushing their decisions. I see them work every day. We have quality and talent to make five-yard passes, but they were not happening. It is up to us to tell the players to play their game, try to ignore [outside noise] and focus on what is happening on the pitch.
“It is us who is going to solve our problems. Us who is in the building, not us who is outside. We must solve our own problems.
“We have to improve our players. We need to improve their fitness, tactical awareness – everything. We concede a lot of set-pieces – too many – but we defend them pretty well. We are improving on that but we need to improve on not conceding. Some of them are easy situations we can solve.”
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Last time out: not pretty for either team.
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This is the predicament both teams find themselves in.
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Preamble
A six pointer? Or a six pinter? West Ham were absolutely awful on Monday against Brentford and there was an air of circling the drain at the London Stadium. They face a Leeds team circling the bottom three, kicking off in 16th. Last week at Burnley was a disappointment, and have only beaten basement club since the opening day of the season. Then again, those are the games they need to win. It could be grim viewing, but let’s look on the bright side, it could be fun.
Kick off at 8pm at Elland Road. Join me.
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