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Preview: West Ham United vs Leeds United

Whites return to East London to take on the Hammers.

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Leeds United are back in action on Sunday afternoon, as they take on West Ham United away from home for the second weekend running.

The two teams faced one another in the Emirates FA Cup last weekend in a match that saw the Hammers progress to the next round, in a match that was a relatively close encounter throughout.

The return to Premier League action for the Whites is a welcome on, after they began 2022 with a deserved and much needed win at home to Burnley. The Hammers have also began 2022 in fine form, winning two league matches out of two, away at Crystal Palace and at home to Norwich.

The home side are fighting for UEFA Champions League qualification this season and currently sit in fourth spot. An impressive campaign from David Moyes and his side has seen them win over half of their matches up to this point.

Moyes has a strong record against the Whites over his managerial career. From his seven matches in the dugout against Leeds, he has never lost, meaning it’s a record that needs to end if Bielsa’s side are to win in East London on Sunday.

The Hammers have won the last four meetings between the teams, in both league and cup. A last minute win at Elland Road in September from Michail Antonio added to wins both home and away last season.

Both teams have forwards who have been in good form this season, and they are level on goals with one another. Brazilian forward Raphinha is on eight, which is the same as Antonio for the home side.

In the creative departments, Jarrod Bowen has shown he is more than capable of laying on chances for his teammates. He has seven assists up to now, and comes into the match having scored two in his sides midweek win. The Whites don’t have a stand-out assister going into the match, with 12 players registering at least one this campaign.

A win for Leeds could see them move above Everton into 15th place, and break the 20 point barrier in doing so. For the Hammers, they can’t move higher up the table than fourth, but they can extend the gap to fifth with a win.

The match is being shown live on Sky Sports and it gets underway at 2pm.

Manager/head coach:

West Ham: David Moyes

Leeds: Marcelo Bielsa

What Marcelo Bielsa said ahead of the match?

“It’s a fight that is deserved and one they are taking forward. They [West Ham] are a team that has variants for each position. They have adapted to the absences they have had. They are a team with power offensively and with a very solid structure.”

League position

West Ham: 4th

Leeds: 16th

Premier League form

West Ham: LLWWW

Leeds: DLLLW

Top scorer

West Ham: Michail Antonio (8)

Leeds: Raphinha (8)

Head to head

West Ham: 31

Draws: 29

Leeds: 48

A memorable moment against West Ham…

Team news

Marcelo Bielsa has stated that it is possible that he could call upon Pascal Struijk, Rodrigo and Patrick Bamford, with the trio potentially returning from injury in time for Sunday’s match.

West Ham will be without Kurt Zouma, Ryan Fredericks, Angelo Ogbonna and Said Benrahma. David Moyes is hopeful that his midfield options will be boosted, with the return of one of Tomas Soucek or Mark Noble.

Officials

Referee - Mike Dean

Assistant Referee 1 - Eddie Smart

Assistant Referee 2 - Mark Scholes

Fourth Official - Simon Hooper

Video Assistant Referee - Craig Pawson

A key battle

Declan Rice vs Stuart Dallas

Take a look at some stats between two key midfield players on either side. Declan Rice and Stuart Dallas are both hugely important to their clubs, and they will continue to battle it out on Sunday against one another.

Latest odds

West Ham: 8/13

Draw: 3/1

Leeds: 4/1

How to watch

The match will be broadcast on Sky Sports for supporters to watch if they are not attending the game. Live commentary is available as always on LUTV, with up to date blog coverage on leedsunited.com

Supporter information

West Ham United have provided this updated information for all fans attending the game. Please CLICK HERE to read more.

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