Key events
A different fanfare for the common man – the Last Post – sounds poignantly. Silent, solemn remembrance of the fallen. After which Tottenham Hotspur get the ball rolling.
The teams emerge from the tunnel, so …
Leeds are in their Revie-approved white, so Spurs are forced into third-choice purple. It won’t be long now.
Pre-match postbag. “Hands up who had Tottenham challenging for Europe and Manchester United challenging for the, er, Championship on their 25%-of-the-season-gone bingo card? No, me neither” – Dave Estherby
“Let’s just nip this talk of Tottenham rounding into form in the bud, shall we? Three wins on the bounce is nice until you take a closer look at them. Coventry: ‘nuff said. Chelsea: missing Joao Pedro, and with a dreadful tactical setup in response. Crystal Palace: down a man before the match before the match was a quarter-hour old. You need a fair glob of polish to put a proper gloss on that run” – Eric Peterson
Roberto De Zerbi’s turn to chat with TNT. “We keep going … keep pushing … a tough game for us … a tough game for them because we are in a good moment … every game starts nil-nil … we have to work hard if we want to win … [Pedro Porro] can bring everything … he is a fantastic guy, a fantastic player … [Archie Gray, who moves from right-back to midfield] deserves to play because he’s playing very well … I am sorry for [substitute] Conor Gallagher because he deserves to play as well.”
Daniel Farke speaks to TNT Sports. “Spurs are normally dominant in possession so you need to find some solutions in order to be competitive … Sean [Longstaff] is smart … a bit like a third midfield player to control their processes … today is a chance for [Lukas Nmecha] to shine … we want to be dangerous today and score.”
Leeds can leap to eighth place with a win today. Technically they can make seventh, but they’d need to win this game by seven goals, so come off it and come on. Meanwhile should Spurs win a fourth consecutive Premier League game for the first time in over three years, they can make their way up to sixth, but they’d need a two-goal winning margin to ensure that.
Tottenham make one change from last weekend’s 2-0 win over Crystal Palace. Pedro Porro replaces the benched Dominic Solanke.
Leeds have made two changes in the wake of their 2-0 defeat at Bournemouth. Sean Longstaff, starting for the first time this calendar year, and Lukas Nmecha come in for Harry Wilson and Daniel James, who both drop to the bench.
The teams
Leeds United: Trafford, Justin, Elvedi, Muharemovic, Bogle, Ampadu, Tanaka, Gudmundsson, Longstaff, Nmecha, Calvert-Lewin.
Subs: Zetterer, Rodon, James, Wilson, Aaronson, Bijol, Okafor, Bard, Gruev.
Tottenham Hotspur: Kinsky, Porro, van Hecke, van de Ven, Robertson, Gray, Tonali, Kudus, Fernandes, Tel, Marmoush.
Subs: Gunter, Senesi, Gallagher, Maddison, Solanke, Kulusevski, Bentancur, Davies, Williams-Barnet.
Referee: John Brooks
VAR: Tony Harrington
Preamble
So after all that time, Roberto De Zerbi’s team can finally feel some wind rippling their sail. They’ve just reeled off three consecutive Premier League wins, against Coventry, Chelsea and Crystal Palace, though it’s mainly the one against Chelsea that’s really got them going. Throw in a draw at Old Trafford which really should have been a comfortable win, and it feels a long time ago now when they were three goals down at home to Aston Villa, and folk were beginning to wonder when De Zerbi was going to blow. Everyone happy in N17!
Leeds meanwhile are hardly in a bad spot, comfortable in 12th, with only two defeats suffered so far. But both of those losses have come in the last four games, a run that’s yielded just two points, and the early-season excitement of unexpectedly strong progress under Daniel Farke has dissipated a wee bit. They could do with a momentum-recovering result this lunchtime.
All of which means Spurs go into this game with higher expectation … and that’s before you fold in the recent record between these teams. Spurs have won five of their last six meetings, drawing the other, to the cumulative tune of 17-7; they’ve won on all of their last three visits to Elland Road, the running score of those, 10-2, even more impressive. But winning runs are there to be snapped, which is what Leeds did by drawing in north London back in May, so everyone has hope. Kick-off is at 12.30pm GMT. It’s on!
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