Leeds United are facing Tottenham Hotspur in Saturday’s early kick-off at Elland Road, live on BT Sport, for the 12:30pm kick-off.
This Premier League encounter will see both sides hoping to get back to winning ways after recent bad form, by both their high standards. Leeds suffered a heavy defeat away at Liverpool in midweek, whilst Spurs lost against Burnley at Turf Moor.
Antonio Conte’s side starting strongly under the world-renowned manager after he was appointed in November. The Italian oversaw an upturn and form which meant his side didn’t lose under his stewardship in the league until the end of January.
That form has dipped in recent weeks though, with four defeats in their last five games, two away and two on home turf. The solitary win in that run was impressive though, a last minute Harry Kane goal securing an away win at Manchester City.
When the two teams met last season, both won their matches on home turf, as the Whites ran out 3-1 winners at Elland Road. The sides have met already this season, with Spurs taking the three points on home turf with a 2-1 victory.
For Leeds, after a resurgent start to 2022 brought wins at home to Burnley and away at West Ham, before four defeats in the next five followed. The coaching staff and the players have called on one another for a response this weekend, to try and avoid the danger of the drop zone.
Spurs are in a fight of their own for league position, at the opposite end of the table. The North Londoners are in a hotly contested fight for fourth place to take that final qualification spot, but will need to improve their recent form to catch back up with their competitors.
The top-scorers facing off against one another on Saturday have nine goals each to their names. Raphinha found the net to get to that number against Manchester United last weekend, whilst Son Heung-Min has been a regular at the top end of the goalscoring chart in the Premier League.
With a victory, Marcelo Bielsa’s side have the possibility of moving above Brentford who sit just a point ahead in 14th spot. Spurs will be aiming to take a maximum from the match in order to go level on points with 6th placed West Ham United, with a game in hand.
The man in the middle on Saturday is Craig Pawson. The referee has overseen two Leeds games this season, which were the defeat at home to Liverpool and the stalemate away at Brighton. He has also reffed Tottenham twice this campaign, both away, both losses, against Arsenal and Chelsea.
The match has been selected for television coverage on BT Spot. There will be full updates on the game right here on leedsunited.com. Subscribers can also listen live to full commentary from Elland Road, on LUTV.
Manager/head coach:
Leeds: Marcelo Bielsa
Spurs: Antonio Conte
What Marcelo Bielsa said, ahead of the match?
“The effort and willingness of the team, it can’t be doubted because they have been the most intense team in their performance in the whole of their two years in the Premier League. Of course, every game that we play, I imagine that we have true possibilities of winning."
League position
Leeds: 15th
Spurs: 8th
Premier League form
Leeds: LDLLL
Spurs: LLLWL
Top scorer
Leeds: Raphinha (9)
Spurs: Son Heung-Min (9)
Head to head
Leeds: 33
Draws: 29
Spurs: 38
A memorable moment against Tottenham Hotspur…
Team news
Marcelo Bielsa is still waiting on the return of key players such as Kalvin Phillips, Liam Cooper and Patrick Bamford. However, the head coach will welcome the return of Kobin Koch and Diego Llorente this weekend after the pairing missed the
For the visitors Sergio Reguilon could make his return to starting line-up, but Pierluigi Gollini, Oliver Skipp and Japhet Tanganga are likely to be out of action come Saturday lunchtime.
Officials
Referee - Craig Pawson
Assistant Referee - Ian Hussin
Assistant Referee - Richard West
Fourth Official - Robert Jones
Video Assistant Referee - Jarred Gillett
A key battle
Raphinha vs Lucas Moura
Take a look at some key stats as two tricky Brazilian attackers battle it out against one another, with the pairing both expecting to play key roles for their sides.
Latest odds
Leeds: 3/1
Draw: 29/10
Spurs: 4/5
How to watch
The match has been selected for television broadcast coverage within the UK on BT Sport. Live commentary is available as always on LUTV, with up to date blog updates on leedsunited.com.
Supporter information
