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Preview: Leeds United host Spurs in lunchtime kick off

Preview: Leeds United host Spurs in lunchtime kick off

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Inconsistent Leeds take on stuttering Tottenham in an early Saturday kick-off in which they may just cancel each other out. 

By Ian King

Leeds have improved after a slow start, while Spurs have tailed off after a good one

People seem to be slowly coming round to the idea that the three teams promoted from the Championship last season might not be as terrible as they have been in recent seasons. Leeds arrive at Elland Road for this match in 12th place in the table, only separated from eighth by a negative goal difference brought about by their 5-0 drubbing at Arsenal in August. 

Spurs, meanwhile, have had a fortnight of escapology, having to come from 2-0 twice, once to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League and once to Bodø/Glimt in the Champions League. Sandwiched between these were a 1-1 draw with Wolves that required a stoppage-time equaliser to rescue a point and a win against Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Cup. As ever, with this most unfathomable of football teams, who knows?

Spurs have a good record against Leeds since their (first) return to the Premier League

Spurs have won five of the six meetings between these two teams since Leeds originally returned to the Premier League in 2020. This has also been a game in which they’ve enjoyed themselves in front of goal, having scored four times in each of their last three meetings. Leeds’ last win in this fixture came with a 3-1 victory at Elland Road in May 2021.

The search for a consistent goal threat

Leeds have scored six goals in the Premier League this season and they’ve all been scored by six different players, but one player who could probably do with adding to his tally is Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who’s only scored one in six in the league but did chip in with a quite delightful header in their 3-1 win at Wolves a fortnight ago. He’s had horrendous luck with injuries, but if he’s fit and raring to go this season it’s time to prove that he can score more consistently. 

Spurs, curiously, have been the beneficiaries of no fewer than four own goals since the middle of September, with Villareal, Brighton, Doncaster and Bodø/Glimt having all added to their goals scored tally in the last two and a half weeks. They have four players on three goals each (in all competitions) and two of them are defensively minded, with Micky Van De Ven a centre-back and João Palhinha a defensive midfielder. They may well get forward again in pursuit of leading that top goalscorers chart on their own.

Solanke to miss out for Spurs, while Perri & Gnonto are unlikely to be ready in time for Leeds

Well, at least we finally know what the situation with Dominic Solanke is. He had surgery on an ankle injury and will now be out until the start of November. Randal Kolo Muani didn’t train before or play in the Bodø/Glimt game and is rated at no better than 50:50 to take part in this match. Spurs’ remaining injury list is all longer-term, while one player who isn’t injured but is vanishingly unlikely to take part regardless is Yves Bissouma, who has fallen completely out of favour with Thomas Frank. 

Leeds, meanwhile, are relatively free of injuries. Lucas Perri will be out for the next couple of weeks with a thigh injury, and while Wilfried Gnonto is due to return to full training, he’s unlikely to appear in this match.

Leeds’ inconsistency and Tottenham’s recent stumble could cancel each other out

Leeds may not have a great record against Spurs in recent years, but they’ll be confident of picking something up from this one, having taken four points from their last two Premier League matches. 

Spurs, meanwhile, remain something of a conundrum. They look more cohesive than they did last season, but they’ve already used up a lot of Get Out of Jail Free cards this season and they can’t expect the relative good fortune they’ve had in recent weeks to last indefinitely.

That said, there are usually goals in this fixture – the last to feature fewer than three was almost 22 years ago, in January 2004 – and it feels perfectly reasonable to expect these two inconsistency monsters to cancel each other out.

I’ll go for another 2-2 draw, because it’s been starting to feel as though Spurs rather like that scoreline of late. 

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Premier League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.

Preview: Leeds United host Spurs in lunchtime kick off

Inconsistent Leeds take on stuttering Tottenham in an early Saturday kick-off in which they may just cancel each other out. 

By Ian King

Leeds have improved after a slow start, while Spurs have tailed off after a good one

People seem to be slowly coming round to the idea that the three teams promoted from the Championship last season might not be as terrible as they have been in recent seasons. Leeds arrive at Elland Road for this match in 12th place in the table, only separated from eighth by a negative goal difference brought about by their 5-0 drubbing at Arsenal in August. 

Spurs, meanwhile, have had a fortnight of escapology, having to come from 2-0 twice, once to Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League and once to Bodø/Glimt in the Champions League. Sandwiched between these were a 1-1 draw with Wolves that required a stoppage-time equaliser to rescue a point and a win against Doncaster Rovers in the EFL Cup. As ever, with this most unfathomable of football teams, who knows?

Spurs have a good record against Leeds since their (first) return to the Premier League

Spurs have won five of the six meetings between these two teams since Leeds originally returned to the Premier League in 2020. This has also been a game in which they’ve enjoyed themselves in front of goal, having scored four times in each of their last three meetings. Leeds’ last win in this fixture came with a 3-1 victory at Elland Road in May 2021.

The search for a consistent goal threat

Leeds have scored six goals in the Premier League this season and they’ve all been scored by six different players, but one player who could probably do with adding to his tally is Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who’s only scored one in six in the league but did chip in with a quite delightful header in their 3-1 win at Wolves a fortnight ago. He’s had horrendous luck with injuries, but if he’s fit and raring to go this season it’s time to prove that he can score more consistently. 

Spurs, curiously, have been the beneficiaries of no fewer than four own goals since the middle of September, with Villareal, Brighton, Doncaster and Bodø/Glimt having all added to their goals scored tally in the last two and a half weeks. They have four players on three goals each (in all competitions) and two of them are defensively minded, with Micky Van De Ven a centre-back and João Palhinha a defensive midfielder. They may well get forward again in pursuit of leading that top goalscorers chart on their own.

Solanke to miss out for Spurs, while Perri & Gnonto are unlikely to be ready in time for Leeds

Well, at least we finally know what the situation with Dominic Solanke is. He had surgery on an ankle injury and will now be out until the start of November. Randal Kolo Muani didn’t train before or play in the Bodø/Glimt game and is rated at no better than 50:50 to take part in this match. Spurs’ remaining injury list is all longer-term, while one player who isn’t injured but is vanishingly unlikely to take part regardless is Yves Bissouma, who has fallen completely out of favour with Thomas Frank. 

Leeds, meanwhile, are relatively free of injuries. Lucas Perri will be out for the next couple of weeks with a thigh injury, and while Wilfried Gnonto is due to return to full training, he’s unlikely to appear in this match.

Leeds’ inconsistency and Tottenham’s recent stumble could cancel each other out

Leeds may not have a great record against Spurs in recent years, but they’ll be confident of picking something up from this one, having taken four points from their last two Premier League matches. 

Spurs, meanwhile, remain something of a conundrum. They look more cohesive than they did last season, but they’ve already used up a lot of Get Out of Jail Free cards this season and they can’t expect the relative good fortune they’ve had in recent weeks to last indefinitely.

That said, there are usually goals in this fixture – the last to feature fewer than three was almost 22 years ago, in January 2004 – and it feels perfectly reasonable to expect these two inconsistency monsters to cancel each other out.

I’ll go for another 2-2 draw, because it’s been starting to feel as though Spurs rather like that scoreline of late. 

(Cover image from IMAGO)

You can follow every game from the Premier League with FotMob this season – featuring deep stats coverage, xG, and player ratings. Download the free app here.