Premier League: Leeds Face the Old Master

Leeds United vs Crystal Palace

Upwardly mobile Leeds have another huge Premier League clash on Sunday when Crystal Palace are the visitors to Elland Road.  

At this stage of the campaign 13^th hosting 12^th would sound like a fairly meaningless mid table match…but this game is anything but. Only three points separate Palace from 18^th placed Bournemouth, and Leicester City are only two points further back, while Southampton are rock bottom and four from safety. It’s any three from nine and there will be plenty of twists and turns to come.

The Eagles have moved to cement their place in the top flight with the appointment of former boss Roy Hodgson who, at 75 years of age, is the senior statesman in English football and a master tactician. Hodgson was appointed manager of Palace following the departure of Patrick Vieira and, after a sequence of four consecutive losses, he led them to a 2-1 victory over Leicester City, a result which saw the end of Foxes’ boss Brendan Rodgers. Meanwhile the Whites climbed out of the bottom three with a 2-1 victory over Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night and they will be looking to follow that up with another victory against a relegation rival.  

According to the latest Premier League 2023 odds neither Leeds nor Palace have too much to worry about, with six clubs at shorter odds to go down; but neither team will be taking anything for granted.

It’s far too close for comfort. 

Talking Points

Rodrigo return so important for Leeds

Since Javi Gracia arrived at Elland Road Leeds’ fortunes have turned around from his opening game, a 1-0 win over Southampton. And the new boss’s league record reads three wins, one draw and two losses: ten points from six games which is top seven form.    

With a good set of Premier League 2023 results under his belt Gracia has justified his appointment, but Leeds’ two wins from the last three games has coincided with the return of top scorer Rodrigo, who scored his 11^th goal in a 4-2 win over Wolves. Gracia is using him sparingly but, among a relatively young group of creative players, the 32 year old Spain international has the experience and guile to see Leeds over the finish line.      

Tuesday’s match at home to Nottingham Forest was a real relegation six-pointer and the Whites emerged victorious in front of a frenzied crowd at a packed Elland Road as Jack Harrison and Luis Sinisterra scored Leeds’ goals. Rodrigo did his job, stretching the Forest defence as the visitors pushed for a leveller; but the unlikely star of the night was midfielder Roca who has been dogged by inconsistency in recent weeks. He put on a masterful display and fired in the shot which was parried for Harrison’s equaliser.   

Eagles without Zaha

The big news coming out of Selhurst Park is that talisman and top scorer Wilfried Zaha will be missing for the Leeds game after he picked up a groin strain during the Eagles’ 2-1 victory over Leicester. In his last stint as Palace manager Hodgson was at pains to insist he wasn’t managing a one-man team, though it often looked like it as the Ivorian winger carried his team-mates to safety.

While the Eagles have plenty of other players with flair, such as Odsonne Edouard and Eberechi Eze, they will miss Zaha who is consistently the most inventive in the forward line. It’s a major blow for the 30 year old who was making his fifth appearance since recovering from an earlier injury and he was visibly upset as he pulled up when taking a pass on the left flank. In the end Palace won as substitute Jean-Phillipe Mateta scored a beauty and the 25 year old Frenchman will hope for a start at Elland Road.        

History

Leeds have had the better of the head to head encounters with the Eagles, winning 12 to six and there have been four draws, and Palace have failed to win on their last seven visits to Elland Road.

But the Eagles won the return match 2-1 with Eduoard and Eze both on target, so Gracia knows his defence will face a lively challenge from the visitors – even without Zaha.    

Betting Tip

At odds of 2.03 Leeds have a great chance to make it back to back wins at a crucial time of the campaign, while Palace are at odds of 3.11 with the draw at 3.16. The Premier League managerial merry-go-round has been spinning furiously, and these are nervy times for the bottom nine; but Hodgson is undoubtedly the man to calm things down at Selhurst Park. He’ll have his team ready for the challenge and it’s going to be a hard fought clash.

 

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