Sam Allardyce takes his new Leeds United side to West Ham United searching for a first victory since his return to management, and he will be hoping the club he managed for four years will help him do just that.
The famous Yorkshire outfit know that a victory can take them out of the relegation zone, an important psychological factor at this late stage of the season with just one game left to play, a home game no less. They will fancy their chances against a West Ham side recovering from the physical and emotional toll of Thursday’s night Europa Conference League success in Holland.
Creating a West Ham vs Leeds bet builder isn’t made easy by the fact that the hosts will likely name a weakened XI so we’ve created our famous stats pack to help you. You can learn more about how to use it in our stats pack guide.
In the meantime, we have you covered with our own West Ham vs Leeds bet builder tips at the bottom of this page.
WEST HAM VS LEEDS confirmed LINEUPS
Wholesale changes expected for West Ham
Anybody who witnessed the scenes at the end of West Ham’s Europa Conference League semi-final second leg knows there will have been some sore legs and heads early this weekend and David Moyes is likely to save a few legs and make wholesale changes again. The main changes expected from their last league outing at Brentford, which ended in a 2-0 loss, could be Declan Rice starting the game instead of Tomas Soucek.
Captain Cooper to the rescue for Big Sam
Leeds United earned a fantastic draw in front of home supporters against Champions League chasing Newcastle United last weekend but it came at a cost with left-back Junior Firpo being sent off late on. That could see captain Liam Cooper make his first start under Allardyce. Another experienced body expected to return is Adam Forshaw, who replaced the much younger Sam Greenwood after a tough first half in the same game.
WEST HAM VS LEEDS TEAM STATS
Discipline key for West Ham
West Ham endured a number of issues earlier in the season and their lack of goals almost cost them their place in the division until they tightened up to level up against their xG numbers. Shots on target are often hard to come by.
Discipline has been an important factor in their season, failing to draw many cards from their opponents (second fewest drawn in the league) but also giving very little away, picking up the fewest cards per game.
Discipline an issue for Leeds
Where their opponents are well behaved, Leeds have had issues all season with discipline, largely drawn from a lack of structure and leadership in their game – no team in the Premier League has drawn picked up more cards and that continued last weekend with Junior Firpo’s red.
That lack of structure has also shown clearly in their defensive numbers, not conceding too many more shots than others in the league but their xGA is the second highest and no team has conceded more goals.
WEST HAM VS LEEDS SHOTS AND SHOTS ON TARGET STATS
Centre-back a shout for West Ham
The high number of changes in the West Ham team makes it difficult to get a true grasp on players but in Danny Ings, they have a player raring to go and who has managed a shot on target in 9 of his 14 league starts and each of his last 3 starts. Elsewhere, Nayef Aguerd has become more of a regular and he is doing his best to make an impact, having a shot in 4 of his last 5 starts in all competitions.
Ayling trying his luck on the regular
The attacking and perhaps gung-ho nature of Leeds’ attack and pressing instincts has allowed a number of players to get involved in the final third and that includes their right-back Luke Ayling. The ex-Yeovil Town man has had a shot in 14 of his last 16 matches, only failing to have an effort against Arsenal and Man City when he was pinned back. Otherwise, Rodrigo is the main man, averaging over three shots and one shot on target per 90 minutes.
WEST HAM VS LEEDS GOALS AND ASSISTS STATS
A chance for somebody to step up for Hammers
Given the number of changes being made to the West Ham XI, it’s unsurprising that nobody really stands out in terms of goals and assists. Danny Ings is the obvious selection, a player who twice hit double figures in the Premier League for Southampton and has scored 70 goals from 151.5 90’s in his Premier League career, just shy of one every two games.
Rodrigo Leeds’ best chance of survival
If Leeds are to survive, they are going to need Spanish international Rodrigo back to his best and as soon as possible. The forward is the only player to score more than five goals for Leeds this season despite playing less than 1800 minutes of football. The man often tasked with supplying the bullets is Jack Harrison and Allardyce will be hoping one of his most reliable players can step up and help his side escape trouble.
WEST HAM VS LEEDS PLAYER PASSING STATS
West Ham relying on Rice to make them tick
West Ham have one of the lowest average possession numbers in the division so expecting a high number of passes isn’t to be expected. However, if anybody is going to see a lot of the ball in a home game against a side relying on structure and discipline it’s Declan Rice, who likes to drop between his centre-half and never goes missing. The odds are minimal for him to attempt over 50 passes so I’d recommend avoiding West Ham pass numbers in your bet builder.
Leeds’ possession to decrease under Allardyce
Leeds have averaged 47% of possession this season, suggesting that they are the side likely to dominate the ball in this football match. However, none of the players in the XI have averaged more than 50 passes per 90 and under Allardyce, we are likely to see a game focusing more on organisation and structure than possession – his team have managed 20% and 36% of the ball in his first two matches so be cautious when looking at the betting market for your West Ham vs Leeds bet builder.
WEST HAM CARDS AND FOULS STATS
Coufal in for a tough afternoon
West Ham have been one of the easiest teams in the league for referees to deal with but Vladimir Coufal hasn’t been afraid to make a challenge, averaging over a foul per 90 minutes played and committing 1 in each of his last eight matches. Elsewhere, keep an eye on attacking midfielders Pablo Fornals and Manuel Lanzini who have both committed a foul in each of their last 3 starts in all competitions.
Part of the reason Coufal could have a tough afternoon is because he is up against Jack Harrison, who commits nearly 4 dribbles per 90 minutes played – he will be tasked with carrying Leeds up the pitch from their more defensive base. Elsewhere, Luke Ayling has been giddy, being fouled in all but 3 of his league starts this season and 4 times against Newcastle last time out.
Key matchups:
Vladimir Coufal vs Jack Harrison
Maxwell Cornet vs Luke Ayling
Nayef Aguerd vs Patrick Bamford
LEEDS CARDS AND FOULS STATS
Leeds lead the way for cards received
Leeds are nothing like their hosts, happy to commit fouls all over the pitch to break up the game and pick up a high number of cards. The front three are worth focusing on in particular. Patrick Bamford has committed 5 fouls in his 2 starts under Allardyce, Jack Harrison has committed a foul in 10 of his last 11 starts and Rodrigo has committed 4 fouls in 2 matches to go with his high average across the campaign.
Leeds are likely to let the West Ham defence play from the back and then press them once the ball move into midfield. That means Flynn Downes could find himself on the end of more bad blood from opponents, fouled an average of 1.33 times per 90 and also in 5 of his 6 starts since the World Cup break. Manuel Lanzini hasn’t featured much in the Premier League but has been fouled in 9 of 11 starts in all competitions.
Key matchups:
Patrick Bamford vs Flynn Downes
Weston McKennie vs Manuel Lanzini
Rodrigo vs Emerson Palmieri
West Ham vs Leeds Bet Builder Tips and Picks of the Pack
We’ve analysed the stats from the data above and compiled a few West Ham vs Leeds bet builder selections that drew our attention.
If you’re adding them to your bet builder, be sure to make best use of all the Free Bets if you’re thinking of joining a new bookie.
West Ham vs Leeds United
21st May
kick off 13:30 Rodrigo 1+ shots on target
Rodrigo averaging 1.23 shots on target
Rodrigo shot on target in both appearances under Allardyce
Playing a weakened West Ham team
Danny Ings 1+ shots on targetIngs had a shot on target in last three starts
Ings had a shot on target in 9/14 starts in the Premier League
Numbers better when starting – a high number of appearances have come from the bench this season
Luke Ayling 1+ shotsAyling had a shot in 14/16 matches
Only two matches Ayling didn’t have a shot were against Arsenal and Man City
Less likely to be tracked by wildcard Cornet
Leeds over 1.5 cardsLeeds will be desperate for a win to leap out of drop zone
They average 2.39 cards per game
Referee averages 4.35 cards per game
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