West Ham United will play Leeds United for the second time in a week when both sides meet in a Premier League clash at the Olympic Stadium on Sunday.
Venue: London Olympic Stadium
Key Statistics
West Ham United have won their last two home games without conceding a goal in both games.
They have scored in each of their last six games.
David Moyes has a perfect record against Marcelo Bielsa (W4).
Leeds United have lost their last three away games in all competitions, conceding 12 goals in those three games while scoring only two.
They are winless in their last five away games (D1, L4).
The visitors have won just one of their away league games this season, while only 32% of their total points haul have come away from home (W1, D3, L5).
Head to head
Leeds have a superior record in this fixture in the Premier League. Since the 1991 season, both teams have met 23 times in the top flight with Leeds winning 14 of those games against West Ham United’s four wins (D4).
Latest performances in all competitions
West Ham United: W-W-W-W-L
Leeds United: L-W-L-L-L
West Ham United
West Ham continued their impressive start to the year with a 2-0 win over struggling Norwich on Wednesday. Two goals from the in-form Jarrod Bowen sealed the win for the Hammers who leapfrogged Arsenal into the top four as a result.
The win was West Ham’s fourth win on the bounce and made a mockery of the complaints by David Moyes of fixture congestion.
The Scotsman has taken West Ham from a relegation team to a Champions League-chasing side in the space of two years. His exciting team have taken 37 points so far this season after winning eleven of their opening 21 PL games (D4, L6). Their total point tally this season is two points more than they got at this stage last season when they finished in sixth.
After a patchy run of form in late November and December, the Hammers are looking ready again to push for a top-four finish. With some of their key players returning from injury, the London based club will fancy their chances of attaining their goal of Champions League football next season.
Their last meeting with Leeds was in the FA Cup; a game they won 2-0. Their chances of a repeat is high here given that David Moyes boasts the highest win rate of any manager who has faced Leeds United in at least five Premier League clashes (86% – W6, D1).
Possible West Ham United starting line-ups
Lukasz Fabianski; Vladimir Coufal, Craig Dawson, Issa Diop, Aaron Cresswell; Declan Rice, Tomas Soucek; Manuel Lanzini, Pablo Fornals, Jarrod Bowen; Michail Antonio.
Injured: Kurt Zouma, Ryan Fredericks, Angelo Ogbonna
Unavailable (AFCON): Said Benrahma
Suspended: None
Leeds United
Leeds United will travel to the London Stadium for the second time in eight days looking to avenge their FA Cup loss and exit against West Ham United.
The visitors lost 2-0 the last time they visited here thanks to goals from Manuel Lanzini and Jarrod Bowen. Their last four visits to this ground in all competitions has resulted in losses for them and each of those games saw them concede two goals.
They will hope to get one over their rivals by picking up maximum points on this occasion. But their form coming into this tie suggests that they face a mountainous task, having picked up just one win from their away games this season.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side are lying in 16th place, eight points ahead of the relegation spot. They have won 10 points from their opening 19 points, which is seven points less than they did at this stage last season.
However, a 3-1 win over Burnley in their last PL outing will be a source of encouragement for them, as well as the fact that they have not lost consecutive away league head-to-heads since 1974.
Possible Leeds United starting line-up
Illan Meslier; Start Dallas, Luke Ayling, Robin Koch, junior Firpo; Adam Forshaw, Mateusz Klich; Raphinha, Daniel James, Jack Harrison; Patrick Bamford.
Injured: Liam Cooper, Kalvin Phillips, Tyler Roberts, Joe Gelhardt, Jamie Shackleton, Charlie Cresswell.
Suspended: Diego Llorente
Prediction
West Ham 2-1 Leeds United
