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“England’s number nine,” is the chant from the Leeds fans re Calvert-Lewin. A certain Herr Harry Kane might have something to say about that.
30 mins: Ampadu chucks a long throw – but not as long as Kayode’s throw – into the mixer, but again Brentford are well organised.
29 mins: There’s not a great deal of urgency about Leeds so far. A draw wouldn’t be the best result given their relegation rivals are still to play this weekend. They need to go for it tonight.
Nmecha tries to work an angle but he’s well marshalled by Brentford’s defence.
On the 26th minute, Leeds fans are turning their backs on the action and applauding, in memory of the two fans, Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight, who were stabbed to death in Istanbul before the Uefa Cup semi-final tie versus Galatasaray in April 2000.
25 mins: James Justin has a pop from the apex of the penalty box but gets very much underneath his shot. It’s quite a distance over the crossbar.
24 mins: There’s an air of frustration around Elland Road right now. You sense the Leeds fans can feel their side are lacking fluency and need a pick-me-up. The ‘12th man’ thing is a terrible cliche, but cliches are often cliches for a reason.
22 mins: The Brentford fans are singing Thiago’s name. He’s playing with all the swagger and confidence of a man who has just been called up by Brazil.
He’s the league’s second top scorer, too, don’t forget.
21 mins: Igor Thiago, who is looking razor sharp up front for Brentford, shrugs off a couple of defenders and gets a shot away. It’s wide, but it’s very good centre-forward play.
20 mins: At the other end, Kelleher finds himself in trouble. Bogle’s cross from the right was deflected up in the air, and the former Liverpool goalkeeper opted to rush out to catch from the deflection, but was put off by the leaping Calvert-Lewin and missed it.
I think Kelleher lost the run of his own positioning and where the ball was in that passage, but luckily for him it bounced to safety.
18 mins: A Kayode long throw produces the first effort on goal of the match, Collins flicking it on with his head, but Darlow saved comfortably.
16 mins: Nmecha is coming quite deep to collect the ball of his midfield teammates, almost making a 3-4-2-1 with Aaronson, leaving Calvert-Lewin to occupy the Brentford centre-backs. This is Ruben Amorim heritage.
14 mins: Leeds have found their feet somewhat in this game, albeit they’ve not created anything yet.
The ball has spent a lot of time in the air.
12 mins: I remember watching Jayden Bogle in his Championship days for Derby and Sheffield United and, with all due respect, he never seemed like a top Premier League player in waiting. But he’s now a key man for this Leeds, all credit to him.
11 mins: Bogle provides an injection of pace down the right, taking on a few Brentford defenders before going to ground, amid half-hearted shouts for a penalty. It was Lewis-Potter in close quarters with Bogle in the box but the contact was minimal and Jarred Gillett, the referee, was never giving that.
9 mins: I’ve watched Leeds a few times lately and, although hard to beat, they’re rarely a fluent team to watch in possession. And I’m not sure they’ve strung three passes together yet tonight.
It’s been an attritional opening to the game.
8 mins: Stach prods one away from trouble after a cracking in-swinging corner from Mathias Jensen’s right foot briefly worries Leeds.
6 mins: Neither side has been unafraid to lump a long-ish ball into the channel in these early knockings. Leeds do have both Calvert-Lewin and Nmecha to aim at, so it would make sense for the hosts to go long every now and then.
5 mins: I’m going to answer my own hair-related question and say: no, nobody can beat Farke and Andrews when it comes to hair. With all due respect to Scott Parker and Marco Silva.
Brentford have started the brighter.
3 mins: Both Farke and Andrews are already standing pensively in their technical areas, hand on chin. Is there a more glorious combination of managerial hairstyles in the Premier League than when these two collide?
Struijk concedes a corner, blocking Yarmoliuk’s cross.
1 min: Brentford go direct from kick-off, and then direct again, looping it into the feet of Igor Thiago, but the striker is offside.
KICK OFF
Off we goooo.
By the way, Brentford’s best ever Premier League finish is ninth, with a points tally of 59 – in 2022/33. A win tonight would take them to within 11 points of that total …
The only number Leeds will be interested in this season is the magic 40-point mark.
Brentford are indeed warming up with Lewis-Potter as part of a back five. Two teams playing 5-3-2 going head-to-head – it’s like the late 1990s all over again!
Kick-off is around the corner.
Sky Sports have Brentford’s line-up as a 5-3-2, mirroring Leeds, with Lewis-Potter as a left wing-back. Hmm, let’s see.
Keith Andrews was not keen to confirm anything in his pre-match chat with the broadcaster. “In terms of our structure and shape, our players are very versatile in how they can line up,” he said.
Have you tried The Guardian’s new(ish) football game, On The Ball? Go to the Puzzles section of the app to play, and read more about it here.
It’s been a balmy day in the north of England, so I have no doubt the Leeds faithful will be in good spirits, and possibly well-oiled, arriving at the ground this evening. I fancy them to create a big atmosphere, which seems to have a telling effect on this Leeds team. I Predict A Riot etc etc …
I have to say, I’m not a fan of this drip-feeding of Premier League games throughout a weekend. One Friday night kick-off, one Saturday lunchtime, one at 3pm, one at 5.30pm and now another at 8pm…
And none of the games have been proper blockbusters to justify a slot all to themselves.
Or is it just me? Drop me an email with your thoughts.
Everton have won 3-0. So they leapfrog – possibly just temporarily – Brentford into seventh place, with the cohort of teams below Chelsea, Liverpool and Aston Villa gaining more confidence they can hijack the race for Champions League qualification, given that trio’s faltering form.
A Brentford win in West Yorkshire tonight would put them level on points with Chelsea, just goal difference keeping the Bees out of the top six. What a carrot for Keith Andrews’s side.
Good grief, Chelsea are getting another shellacking. (Both Leeds and Brentford fans will probably be happy to see that). Their recent results make for pretty grim reading. Follow the latter stages at Hill Dickinson Stadium here.
No Gabriel Gudmundsson (he’s suspended) is a blow for Leeds. The left wing-back has been excellent in Farke’s preferred 5-3-2 recently, providing genuine width and a real crossing threat from that flank; James Justin looks set to fill that position tonight.
Brentford have deemed Dango Ouattara only worthy of a place on the bench, while Mikkel Damsgaard is out entirely – he’s injured. The Bees bench looks a little thin, in truth. Joining Damsgaard on the treatment table are Rico Henry, Vitaly Janelt and Aaron Hickey, among others.
Team news
Leeds: Darlow; Bogle, Rodon, Bijol, Struijk, Justin; Ampadu, Stach, Aaronson; Nmecha, Calvert-Lewin.
Subs: Perri, James, Longstaff, Piroe, Okafor, Tanaka, Bornauw, Gnonto, Gruev.
Brentford: Kelleher; Kayode, Collins, Pinnock, Van den Berg; Henderson, Yarmoliuk, Jensen; Lewis-Potter, Schade, Thiago.
Subs: Valdimarsson, Nelson, Ouattara, Donovan, Furo, Bentt, Shield, Stephensen, McManus.
Preamble
These two teams are in contrasting form. Brentford have only lost once game since the start of February, while you have to go back to the 6th of that month for Leeds United’s most recent league win. Daniel Farke’s side have to be a little careful they do not get dragged into the relegation battle – they are playing before their rivals, Tottenham, Nottingham Forest and West Ham this weekend, so it’s a chance to put a six-point cushion between themselves and the drop zone. Spurs and Forest meet each other tomorrow in an enormous six-pointer.
Leeds have favoured home games under the Elland Road lights more than any other kind of match this season, so Farke will be hopeful of a performance. It was 1-1 when the teams met in west London in December. Dominic Calvert-Lewin was named in the extended 35-man England squad for upcoming friendlies against Uruguay and Japan; can he celebrate with a goal tonight?
Join us for all the buildup, with kick-off at 8pm GMT. Looking forward to this one.
