Baggies face the Championship’s toughest challenge

Brummie Road Ender

·27. Februar 2025

Baggies face the Championship’s toughest challenge

Leeds United v West Bromwich Albion; Elland Road, Saturday 1st March 2025, 12.30pm

Albion travel to West Yorkshire on Saturday to take on the Championship’s leaders, Leeds United, looking to do what no team has done in the league since mid-September, win away at Elland Road. Danie Farke’s team have not lost a league game anywhere since the end of November when they were beaten 1-0 at Ewood Park, a run of 16 games without defeat. Their win at Bramall Lane on Monday opened up a five point gap at the top of the table and they are now firm favourites to win promotion back to the Premier League.

Their total of 75 points puts them 24 points ahead of the Baggies, who are, in contrast, 23 points above bottom-placed Luton Town. While the top four have demonstrated a level of consistency that has been distinctly lacking amongst the chasing pack, it is a credit to Albion that they haven’t been beaten by any of them so far this season, but then neither have they won any of their encounters with them either. The two games with Sheffield United, the home games with Burnley and Leeds United, and the trip to Sunderland have all ended in draws, a result that I’m sure all Baggies fans will take from their trip to Elland Road. Only three teams have taken any points from trips to Leeds this season – Burnley won 1-0 in September while Blackburn Rovers and Portsmouth both earned a point with Rovers’ 1-1 draw on New Year’s Day the last time that the Whites dropped points at home.

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United will be without club captain, Ethan Ampadu, the son of former Baggies midfielder Kwame, but such is the strength of their squad that they barely missed him in their victory over the Blades on Monday evening. They were able to bring the likes of Joe Rothwell, Mateo Joseph and Willy Gnonto off the bench who would get in the first eleven of most sides in the division.

It will certainly be a challenge for Tony Mowbray and his coaching team and he is likely to take a different approach to Carlos Corberán. The Spaniard opted to protect the point when Leeds visited the Hawthorns in August, and was successful, but some felt that Farke’s team were a little vulnerable at the time and, perhaps, Albion should have gone for the win. The Whites’ forward line is now so potent that it be difficult to contain them for ninety minutes, and I feel Mowbray will try to attack them. Albion’s own attacking force hasn’t been particularly free-scoring of late, but most of their opponents choose to defend first – Leeds will opt to throw players forward which will leave a few gaps at the back that the Baggies may be able to exploit. I feel sure this match will not finish goalless like the meeting at the Hawthorns.

Mowbray may, of course, opt to make some concessions to the leaders’ strengths, perhaps by starting Diakité in midfield to offer a little more defensive strength. Some may prefer to see Heggem at left back rather than Callum Styles to put up against Dan James, but I think Mogga is a fan of the Hungarian international and will keep him in the starting line up. He will, at least, have Kyle Bartley available again which will offer some much-needed stability in central defence and, while Ajayi went off injured against Oxford, it does mean he has three central defenders available should he decided to switch things around.

Albion will obviously need to defend well to come away with anything, but I also feel that they will need to be ready to exploit the opportunities they will get. Leeds are a very good side, but they are far from invincible and have conceded three goals on three separate occasions in the Championship this season – ok, they didn’t lose any of those games, but they can be got at. Who’s to say that the Baggies can’t end that unbeaten run?

History

When Tony Mowbray was last in charge at the Hawthorns, Albion faced Leeds United just twice, both in January 2007 and both resulting in victories for the Baggies. In the FA Cup at the Hawthorns, Mowbray’s team won 3-1 thanks to goals from Paul McShane, John Hartson and Kevin Phillips with a last minute own goal from Paul Robinson providing Dennis Wise’s visitors with a consolation. A fortnight later, the two teams met at Elland Road for a Championship match. Tore André Flo scored early to give the hosts the lead, but an equaliser from Jonathan Greening and a brace from Diomansay Kamara saw Albion into a 3-1 lead by half time. Alan Thompson reduced the arrears in the second half but the visitors held on to secure a league double, with Albion having won 4-2 at the Hawthorns under caretaker manager, Nigel Pearson, the previous September.

The Whites would end up being relegated to League One that season and the clubs would not meet again for eleven years after the Baggies were relegated from the Premier League in 2018. In November 2018, Marcelo Bielsa was in charge at Elland Road and he brought his team to the Hawthorns to face Darren Moore’s Albion who were on a run of four games without a win. After a goalless first half, Big Dave’s team sparked into life after the break scoring four goals without reply through Hal Robson-Kanu, Matt Phillips, Harvey Barnes and Dwight Gayle before Pablo Hernández scored a consolation goal in the 92nd minute.

In the eight meetings since then, Albion have won just one, a 1-0 home win in December 2023 thanks to a goal from Grady Diangana. United, meanwhile, have won four times, including a 4-0 win at Elland Road in the Championship in March 2019, and an aggregate 8-1 league double in the behind-closed-doors Premier League season after both teams were promoted together in 2020.

For the record, Albion’s biggest win at Elland Road came in February 1960 when goals from David Burnside (2), Derek Hogg and Derek Kevan saw Gordon Clark’s team win 4-1.