Premier League: Leeds Must Stand Up to the Hungry Wolves

Leeds United vs Wolverhampton Wanderers

Premier League football returns to Elland Road this weekend when Wolverhampton Wanderers are Leeds’ visitors in a blockbuster Saturday afternoon clash.

This is one of those classic fixtures from first division English football at so many points in history. Wolves dominated the first division in the 1950s while Leeds were Kings of England in the early 70s.

Hard times hit both teams for a while, but now they are back among the elite of the UK’s football with an ambition for silverware.

Wolves impressed in 2019/20 as did Leeds on their return to the Premier League last season, but they both made slow starts this time around.

The visitors come into the game on the back of a 3-2 win away to Aston Villa, a result which lifted them to 10th place. Meanwhile, a defeat to Southampton left Leeds in 17^th position though they are three points clear of Burnley in 18^th.

A win for Leeds would help Marcelo Bielsa’s team begin a quick climb up the table, but it won’t be easy against the Wolves who have recently begun to show their bite.

Talking Points

Depleted Leeds must show fight

The pre-match Premier League 2021 betting odds make the hosts the marginal favourites to win this game but they will need to be at their best to keep the Wolves at bay.

And they will start without some key players in all areas of the team as wing-back Luke Ayling, midfield lynchpin Kalvin Phillips, and striker Patrick Bamford are all sidelined. But the good news is that winger Raphinha will be available having completed his international commitments.

The Brazilian has been in fine form again this season and is top scoring with three goals, impressing teams at the top of Europe’s leagues including Liverpool.

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Since his move from Stade Rennes in 2020, Raphinha has written the headlines with some outstanding displays of pace and trickery and he has scored some of the Whites’ most spectacular goals. The Brazilian has been a shining light in what has been a frustrating start to the campaign for Bielsa.

Having won their first Premier League match at the seventh attempt against Watford, Leeds failed to sparkle in a winnable game away to Southampton last week after falling to a second half goal from Armando Borja.

And now it’s time Leeds’ Spanish stars really showed what they are worth. Diego Llorente and Rodrigo arrived at Elland Road in 2020 amidst a fanfare of excitement and they played their parts in an impressive opening season.

But now they need to step on and become big players for the Whites, particularly when some key names are missing.

Wolves starting to fire

After a 13^th placed finish last season, Wolves parted company with head coach Nuno Espirito Santo and Bruno Lage came into the club with a task to ensure top 10 football. But the incoming boss appeared to have a big challenge on his hands when his side lost its first three league games.

But four victories from the last five culminating in a stunning late comeback to win 2-3 away to Aston Villa have given Wolves some real momentum.

After beating Southampton and Newcastle, it looked like Lage’s team was falling to defeat when Aston Villa scored two second half goals to take control of the game.

Danny Ings and John McGinn made it 2-0 and it seemed the points where staying at Villa Park, but the Wolves battlers had other ideas.

Ruben Neves and Conor Coady both scored in Wolverhampton Wanderers' recent Premier League match — Ruben Neves celebrates with Wolverhampton Wanderers teammate Conor Coady

Romain Saiss converted a cross from Daniel Podence on 80 minutes to set the Villa nerves jangling and then Conor Coady added a second on 85 minutes.

The winner had a touch of fortune about the winner when Ruben Neves’ 95^th-minute free-kick took a deflection off Matt Targett before flying into the net. Sometimes the luck goes with you when you’re on a roll.

Hee-Chan Hwang is providing Premier League 2021 highlights for the Wolves with three goals from five games since his loan move from RB Leipzig,where he failed to impress last season.

Meanwhile, the return of star striker Raul Jimenez has galvanised Lage’s team, who are looking for a fourth consecutive victory.

History

Wolves have had the better of the head-to-head matches, winning 11 to seven in all competitions since 2003 and there have been three draws.

Recent results between the Whites and the Wolves have been worse for the former who have failed to win any of the last five meetings, losing both encounters 1-0 last season.

In terms of recent form, Leeds have won one of the last six, in all competitions, while Wolves have won four over that same period.

Betting Tip

	Leeds United vs Wolverhampton Wanderers	Under 2.50 @ 1.97
	October 23, 22:00 (GMT+8)

This will be a tough game for the hosts but at SBOTOP odds of 2.38, Leeds are favourites to win this game though all three results are in play with Wolves at 2.71 and the draw at 3.21.

A 1-1 draw at odds of 5.41 is a clear favourite in terms of a correct scoreline and I expect that will be very close to the reality.