Leeds v Tottenham – Preview, Predictions and Best Bets

Leeds host Tottenham at Elland Road on Saturday in the early kickoff in the Premier League. Marcelo Bielsa’s side are a mess right now, losing constantly and conceding goals for fun. Spurs have lost four of their last five with an amazing win at Man City their only success during that streak. This should be an entertaining match like the reverse fixture in November which Spurs won 2-1.

Leeds Form

Leeds are creeping closer and closer to the relegation zone. They are now just three points above Burnley in 18^th place. The side is leaking goals at an alarming rate with 56 conceded in 25 matches. Their last 10 matches have seen seven defeats and just seven points accrued. After a run of one win in eight (including losing 7-0 at Man City), Leeds put together consecutive victories, 3-1 at home to Burnley and 3-2 at West Ham.

Things have been terrible since those victories though. They lost 1-0 at home to struggling Newcastle and then drew 3-3 at Aston Villa. A 3-0 thrashing at Everton followed and then a 4-2 home loss to Man Utd having come back from 2-0 down to 2-2 at one stage. Their last match may have seen the side near rock-bottom as Liverpool thrashed them 6-0.

Leeds Team News

Injuries continue to plague Leeds. Patrick Bamford up front and Kalvin Phillips in midfield are arguably their two key players and are both out. Captain Liam Cooper is injured at centre back and Diego Llorente joined him on the treatment table with a hamstring injury (and remains a doubt). Robin Koch and Leo Fuhr Hjelde are other centre back absentees due to concussion and a knee injury respectively.

Rodrigo and Mateusz Klich were hooked at half-time against Liverpool after poor showings but there aren’t many options to change things up unless youngster Lewis Bate gets an opportunity.

Leeds Motivation

Leeds’ fans will be very vocal and behind the team for this match. Motivation will be very high to get a win and to move away from relegation trouble.

Bielsa has already stated that he won’t change his full-pitch man marking style nor play more defensively. There should be goals in this match.

Tottenham Form

Spurs started life well under Conte with a nine match unbeaten league run, with six wins and three draws. Last gasp goals brought a victories at Watford (1-0) and Leicester (3-2) but papered over some cracks. They were beaten three times in quick succession by Chelsea – twice in the League Cup semi-finals and 2-0 away in the league – before a deserved 3-2 home defeat to Southampton.

A poor 2-0 home defeat to Wolves followed. A fine win at Man City followed as they won 3-2 in the final moments. Spurs produced 2.0 xG in a great counter attacking display. Their last match brought a frustrating 1-0 defeat at Burnley as they conceded from a set play as Cristian Romero was beaten in the air.

Tottenham Team News

Spurs only have two injuries to deal with in the shape of Oliver Skipp and Japhet Tanganga. Antonio Conte has the rest of his squad to choose from. Despite four defeats in five matches, not many changes to the lineup are expected.

Sergio Reguilon could replace Ryan Sessegnon after COVID-19 whilst Lucas Moura is pushing for a start – that could see Dejan Kulusevski play in a less familiar right wingback role (where he played the final 25 minutes against Burnley). Rodrigo Bentancur could lose his spot to Harry Winks after a poor showing and a slight groin twinge vs Burnley.

Tottenham Motivation

Spurs need a win. Conte may explode or implode if his side loses yet again and he will have Tottenham totally up for this match.

With the space Leeds afford to opponents, Spurs should revel. It’s against low blocks where they struggle the most.

Key Stats

Leeds have lost 7 of their last 10 PL matches

Leeds have seen under 2.5 goals in 10 of their last 11 PL matches

Leeds have conceded 3+ goals in their last 4 PL matches

Tottenham have lost 4 of their last 5 PL matches

Spurs have conceded 12 goals in their last 6 PL matches

Spurs have won 3 of their last 5 away PL matches

Verdict

This match should be entertaining and feature goals and a great atmosphere. Spurs should get the win with their attacking quality against a terrible Leeds backline.

Best Bet: Tottenham win at 1.83

Alternative Bet: Tottenham win and both to score at 3.30

Alternative Bet: Tottenham win + Kane to score anytime at 2.19

Multiplier Leg: Spurs win/draw double chance + over 1.5 goals at 1.54

James O'Connor

James is a football analyst who writes about the tactics of the PSL and English Premier League. He holds the UEFA A coaching licence and has previously worked for several clubs in analysis roles.Twitter: https://twitter.com/footy_analysis