Leeds United and West Ham United kick off Matchday 12 of the 2020/21 Premier League season at Elland Road on Friday night.
Leeds currently find themselves fourteenth in the table, while West Ham are three points ahead in eighth place.
It’s fair to say that Leeds have endured an inconsistent return to the Premier League, picking up just four wins from their opening 11 games this term.
Two draws and five defeats have prevented Marcelo Bielsa’s men from breaking into the top half of the table, although they are comfortably sitting eight points clear of the relegation zone.
Following a decent victory over Everton a fortnight ago, Leeds head into Friday’s clash on the back of a 3-1 defeat to Chelsea.
Last weekend’s loss means that Leeds have only managed to win one of their previous five top-flight outings. However, their recent home record is strong.
Indeed, Bielsa's side can take confidence from the fact that they have only lost four of their last 26 home matches in all competitions.
Patrick Bamford has been the star of the show so far, contributing eight goals and two assists across the opening 11 Premier League matches.
Meanwhile, West Ham have only lost four of their 11 outings this term, with five wins and two draws coming along the way.
Victories over Fulham, Sheffield United and Aston Villa saw the Hammers rack up a three-game winning streak last month, although that was ended by Manchester United last weekend.
Despite taking the lead against Man Utd last time out, a second-half collapse eventually saw David Moyes’ men lost 3-1.
But having registered 19 shots (six on target) against Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side, Moyes will be confident that his team can cause Leeds’ backline plenty of problems.
Head-to-head: Interestingly, West Ham have lost their previous four away matches against Leeds in all competitions.
In fact, the Hammers have only managed to win one of their last ten meetings with Leeds, with the two sides last clashing in the Championship back in 2011/12.
Team news: Leeds’ injury list is lengthy, with Adam Forshaw, Gaetano Berardi, Jamie Shackleton, Pablo Hernadez and Robin Kock all currently sidelined.
👑 @ArthurMasuaku pic.twitter.com/TzHDAWzIx3— West Ham United (@WestHam) December 9, 2020
👑 @ArthurMasuaku pic.twitter.com/TzHDAWzIx3
West Ham will be without Andriy Yarmolenko on Friday, although key forward Michail Antonio is nearing full fitness.
Despite Leeds’ impressive head-to-head record in this fixture, there is no denying that West Ham have been the more consistent of the two teams this season.
Forebet predicts that West Ham will edge Leeds with a low-scoring victory on Friday. A clean sheet could also be on the cards for the away side.