Championship leaders Leeds United are back in action on Saturday afternoon as they face play-off hopefuls West Brom at Elland Road.
Daniel Farke’s side took a giant leap towards the Championship title by coming from behind to beat Sheffield United on Monday night. Leeds again struck late on after Junior Firpo cancelled out Illan Meslier’s own goal in the second half. Impressive midfielder Ao Tanaka and leading goalscorer Joel Piroe scored in ‘Farke time’ to seal a huge 3-1 win.
However, another tricky test beckons for the league leaders as the fifth-place Baggies come to town.
Their form has been mixed since Tony Mowbray returned to the helm in January, but Saturday’s visitors are nonetheless well placed to earn a play-off spot with 12 games of the season remaining. Last week, however, many of the play-off contenders matched their 2-0 victory over Oxford United. Only seven points separate West Brom in fifth and QPR in 14th.
Here is 90min’s guide to Saturday’s Championship bout.
Leeds vs West Brom H2H Record (Last Five Games)
Current form (all competitions)
|
Leeds |
West Brom |
|---|---|
|
Sheffield Utd 1-3 Leeds – 24/02/25 |
West Brom 2-0 Oxford Utd – 22/02/25 |
|
Leeds 2-1 Sunderland – 17/02/25 |
Millwall 1-1 West Brom – 15/02/25 |
|
Watford 0-4 Leeds – 11/02/25 |
West Brom 0-2 Blackburn – 12/02/25 |
|
Leeds 0-2 Millwall – 08/02/25 |
West Brom 2-1 Blackburn – 08/02/25 |
|
Coventry 0-2 Leeds – 05/02/25 |
Plymouth 2-1 West Brom – 01/02/25 |
|
Country |
TV channel/live stream |
|---|---|
|
United Kingdom |
Sky Go UK, NOW, SKY GO Extra, Sky Sports Football, Sky Ultra HD |
|
United States |
Paramount+, fuboTV, CBS Sports Network |
|
Canada |
DAZN Canada |
Leeds captain Ethan Ampadu sat out of Monday night’s win at Bramall Lane due to a knee injury, although he was keen to join the celebrations after Ao Tanaka’s go-ahead goal. Farke confirmed on Thursday that there’s no guarantee the Welshman will feature again this season.
Max Wober and Patrick Bamford are also dealing with knee injuries which will keep them out this weekend.
Joel Piroe put an emphatic finishing touch on Leeds’ win at Sheffield United, and the 15-goal forward will once again lead the hosts’ line at Elland Road.
Leeds predicted lineup vs West Brom (4-2-3-1): Meslier; Bogle, Rodon, Struijk, Firpo; Gruev, Tanaka; James, Aaronson, Solomon; Piroe.
The visitors were dealt a considerable blow last weekend as Semi Ajayi picked up a hamstring injury which will certainly keep him out of action on Saturday.
Striker Josh Maja is nursing a calf injury which has kept him out for January, while Jed Wallace is also sidelined.
John Swift is in contention for a return to the starting lineup after scoring late on off the bench against Oxford Utd last week.
West Brom predicted lineup vs Leeds (4-2-3-1): Wildsmith; Furlong, Bartley, Heggem, Styles; Mowatt, Molumby; Fellows, Price, Johnston; Armstrong.
There’s a sense of inevitability surrounding this Leeds team, who haven’t been beaten in the second tier since the end of November.
Huge wins over Sunderland and Sheffield United are thrusting them towards Championship glory, and it’s hard to envisage this functional, up-and-down West Brom team from causing them too much grief on Saturday.
The hosts should win comfortably at Elland Road.