Sports Mole previews Friday’s Premier League clash between Leeds United and West Ham United, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Two teams struggling towards the wrong end of the Premier League table will lock horns at Elland Road on Friday evening, with Leeds United hosting West Ham United.
The Whites have eight points to show from their eight league matches this season, which has left them in 16th spot, while the Irons are 19th, having only picked up four points from their first eight games of 2025-26.
Match preview
Leeds have a record of two wins, two draws and four defeats from their eight matches on their return to the Premier League, with eight points leaving them 16th, three points outside of the bottom three.
Daniel Farke‘s side have only managed to find the back of the net on seven occasions in the Premier League this term, and their lack of goals is concerning, as it has put major pressure on their defence early in the campaign.
Leeds will enter this match off the back of a 2-0 defeat to Burnley, while they have only managed to claim a point from their last three matches in England’s top flight.
The Whites were last victorious on September 20 away to Wolverhampton Wanderers, while their only home win of the campaign was a 1-0 success over Everton in gameweek one.
Leeds have actually won 49 of their previous 111 matches against West Ham, suffering only 32 defeats in the process, but they lost 3-1 to the Hammers in the last meeting between the two sides in May 2023.
West Ham claimed a point on their last trip to Elland Road in January 2023, with the two teams playing out a 2-2 draw, while their last away success over Leeds was a 2-1 victory in September 2021.
Nuno Espirito Santo‘s side will enter this match off the back of a 2-0 home loss to Brentford – the struggling team have now been beaten in their first four home matches of a season for the first time in their history, while they have only managed to post two victories at the London Stadium all year.
There were thousands of empty seats at the London Stadium in Monday’s reverse to Brentford, with supporters protesting against the club’s board.
The West Ham fans will travel in their numbers to Elland Road, though, and will be demanding a response from the players, with a difficult start to the season seeing the capital outfit pick up just four points from eight matches, which has left them in 19th spot, already suffering six defeats.
West Ham’s only win of the season was against Nottingham Forest at the end of August, and another poor result on Friday would lead to more discontent ahead of the home game with Newcastle United on November 2.
Leeds United Premier League form:
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West Ham Premier League form:
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Team News
Leeds head coach Farke said during Friday’s press conference that he will have to make “some late calls” when it comes to his starting XI, with a number of players uncertain for the contest with the Hammers.
Wilfried Gnonto and Noah Okafor remain major doubts through injury, while Harry Gray will also need to be assessed before a decision on his involvement can be made.
Ethan Ampadu and Pascal Struijk are struggling with illness, and Farke was also unable to confirm whether either player would recover in time to feature against the Hammers.
Daniel James should be involved from the first whistle after coming off the bench against Burnley, while Dominic Calvert-Lewin is set to continue through the middle for the home side.
As for West Ham, Konstantinos Mavropanos has been ruled out of the match with the issue that he suffered in the latter stages of the contest with Brentford last time out.
Niclas Fullkrug and George Earthy are still on the sidelines, meanwhile, with the pair out until November.
Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf are set to return to the starting side, while Tomas Soucek is in line to make his 200th Premier League appearance in Friday night’s contest at Elland Road.
Leeds United possible starting lineup:
Darlow; Bogle, Rodon, Struijk, Gudmundsson; Longstaff, Tanaka, Stach; James, Calvert-Lewin, Harrison
West Ham United possible starting lineup:
Areola; Wan-Bissaka, Todibo, Kilman, Diouf; Irving, Soucek; Bowen, Summerville, Fernandes; Paqueta
We say: Leeds United 1-1 West Ham United
Leeds have only lost one of their four home league matches this season, but they will be welcoming a West Ham outfit that have enjoyed themselves more on their travels this term. It could go either way, but there will be tension in both teams, so a tight match could ultimately end with the points being shared.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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