Leeds United travel to the Black Country for their last 2023 match, where they will face West Bromwich Albion at the Hawthorns.
Leeds crashed back to earth after beating Ipswich Town 4-0 at Elland Road on December 23rd, failing to capitalise on Boxing Day when they played Preston away from home.
The Whites’ chance to recover comes in the form of a severe test against Carlos Corberan‘s West Brom, who are also in the top six.
| Position | Club | MP | W | D | L | GD | PTS |
| 1 | Leicester City | 24 | 19 | 2 | 3 | 31 | 59 |
| 2 | Ipswich Town | 24 | 16 | 5 | 3 | 19 | 53 |
| 3 | Southampton | 24 | 14 | 6 | 4 | 14 | 48 |
| 4 | Leeds United | 24 | 13 | 6 | 5 | 18 | 45 |
| 5 | West Brom | 24 | 11 | 6 | 7 | 12 | 39 |
| 6 | Sunderland | 24 | 11 | 3 | 10 | 6 | 36 |
Leeds United vs. West Brom team prediction: 4-2-3-1
It’s past time for Daniel Farke to make some changes, and the short turnaround between games on Boxing Day and the 29th ensures that some rotation will occur to keep things interesting.
One thing is certain: it will not be an unchanged lineup following Illan Meslier‘s red card, which means Karl Darlow will make his first league start of the season in goal.
Junior Firpo has been brought in to solve the lack of a ‘natural’ left-back in the squad, allowing Djed Spence to play on the right, where he is most effective.
Joe Rodon and Pascal Struijk will almost certainly play again at centre-back, despite their defeat at Deepdale.
Spence shifting to right-back frees up Archie Gray to play alongside Ethan Ampadu in midfield, which is a good choice considering that Leeds will require protection on the right channel when Spence pushes forward, and Glen Kamara is generally seen in the first line of Leeds‘ press, leaving us open.
Attacking modifications are also possible.
Dan James has been fantastic for Leeds this season, but he shouldn’t start in games where Leeds aren’t going to be cutting teams open in transition.
That’s because Leeds have Willy Gnonto poised to make an impact, especially with Spence on the right flank.
Corberan‘s team is the best in the Championship in terms of possession, and you can bet your life that they will not give up counter-attacks to Leeds on a frequent basis, as most other teams have.
Given Joel Piroe‘s goal threat from outside the box, the rest of the attack should remain unchanged, while Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter require no explanation.
It’ll be interesting to see how Farke deploys his bench in this game if Leeds is frustrated again, given that he has better attacking options than almost every other manager but is having trouble getting them to tune in.
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