Preview: Leeds United vs Tottenham Hotspur

Fresh from snatching a Champions League point in Norway, Tottenham Hotspur travel to Elland Road to face Leeds United in the Premier League on Saturday lunchtime.

The two teams lock horns for the first time since May 2023 when Spurs secured a 4-1 top-flight victory away against the Whites.

Match preview

Leeds have won two, drawn two, and lost two of their opening six Premier League fixtures since securing promotion as Championship title winners last season, most recently playing out a 2-2 draw with Bournemouth on home soil last weekend.

After beating Wolves 3-1 at Molineux in their previous match, Leeds were on the cusp of collecting maximum points against the Cherries until the visitors netted a 93rd-minute equaliser. Nevertheless, the Whites have now gone a full year without suffering a home league defeat, extending their impressive unbeaten run at Elland Road to 23 games.

Head coach Daniel Farke rued the missed opportunities from his Leeds side after conceding a “heartbreaking” equaliser, but the German should be satisfied that his team have accumulated a respectable eight points in total and sit 12th in the Premier League table, four points above the relegation zone.

So far this season, only three teams have netted more set-piece goals in the Premier League than Leeds (four), but the Whites have shipped six set-piece goals themselves, with only West Ham United (eight) having conceded more.

Leeds head into Saturday’s contest having lost nine of their last 11 Premier League meetings Tottenham Hotspur (W1 D1), including each of their last four in a row which is their longest ever losing league run to Spurs. They have also failed to win any of their last 11 PL games that have kicked off before 3pm (D2 L9) since beating Chelsea 3-0 in August 2022.

Tottenham concluded the month of September without losing any of their six matches across all competitions, but they have struggled to grind out victories in recent weeks, drawing three of their last four games and conceding five goals in the process.

Spurs made light work of Bodo/Glimt over two legs in last season’s Europa League semi-finals, winning 5-1 on aggregate, but they had to come from behind twice to rescue a 2-2 draw on matchday two in the Champions League on Tuesday night, with an 89th-minute own goal enough to seal a point in Norway.

Although Tottenham were second best for much of the contest, head coach Thomas Frank was upbeat after claiming a “very good point” on the road. His team will now shift their focus back to the Premier League as they endeavour to increase their 11-point total and climb into the top three of the table.

Spurs have drawn their last two Premier League games against Brighton (2-2) and Wolves (1-1), as many as they had drawn in their previous 23 matches (W7 D2 L14), while the North Londoners last drew three consecutive league fixtures back in October/November 2016 (a run of four).

Tottenham will relish Saturday’s trip to Elland Road where they have won both of their last two Premier League visits by an aggregate score of 8-1, and they will attempt to win three times in a row at Leeds for the very first time this weekend.

Leeds United Premier League form:

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Leeds United form (all competitions):

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Tottenham Hotspur Premier League form:

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Tottenham Hotspur form (all competitions):

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Team News

Leeds winger Daniel James will be out for a few weeks after rolling his ankle in training, and Willy Gnonto (calf) is also sidelined, while Harry Gray - the brother of Spurs’ Archie Gray - is a doubt with a hip problem and will be assessed ahead of kickoff.

Goalkeeper Lucas Perri (muscle) has returned to training after missing the last three matches with a muscle injury, but Saturday’s game will come too soon for the Frenchman, so Karl Darlow will continue between the sticks.

Only three PL players have created more chances than Sean Longstaff (eight) so far this season, with the midfielder also registering the joint-most tackles along with Spurs’ Joao Palhinha (19). Longstaff is expected to continue in a three-man midfield alongside Ethan Ampadu and Anton Stach.

As for Tottenham, Dominic Solanke recently underwent ankle surgery and remains out along with James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Radu Dragusin (all knee), Kota Takai (foot) and Yves Bissouma (unspecified), while Randal Kolo Muani (dead leg) will be assessed before kickoff.

Richarlison will hope to make his 250th Premier League appearance this weekend, but considering the Brazilian played the full 90 minutes in midweek, Frank may decide to begin with a refreshed Mathys Tel up front after he was ineligible against Bodo/Glimt.

Cristian Romero was left out of the draw with Bodo/Glimt as a “precaution”, but he should be given the all-clear to start in the heart of the defence alongside Micky van de Ven, while Mohammed Kudus, Xavi Simons, Joao Palhinha and Destiny Udogie are all pushing to earn a recall.

Leeds United possible starting lineup:

Darlow; Bogle, Rodon, Struijk, Gudmundsson; Stach, Ampadu, Longstaff; Aaronson, Calvert-Lewin, Okafor

Tottenham Hotspur possible starting lineup:

Vicario; Porro, Romero, Van de Ven, Udogie; Sarr, Palhinha, Bergvall; Kudus, Tel, Simons

We say: Leeds United 1-2 Tottenham Hotspur

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Leeds have every right to feel optimistic of success having won 18 of their last 23 league games on home soil, but they have struggled to get the better of a Tottenham outfit who have enjoyed their recent visits to Elland Road and will be regarded as favourites to pick up all three points this weekend.

Spurs will be aware that Leeds suffered a heavy 5-0 loss to their North London rivals Arsenal earlier in the campaign, and while we do not expect Frank’s men to win as emphatically, they should ultimately find a way to outscore their opponents in West Yorkshire.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

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