West Ham United continue their bid for a top four finish as they welcome Leeds United to the London Stadium in Monday Night Football.
Should Chelsea and Everton draw in Monday’s early evening match, victory of eight goals or more would see West Ham go fourth otherwise they will be seeking to reclaim fifth from the loser of that clash.
Leeds meanwhile will stay 11th regardless of what result they achieve in East London unless can get an eight goal winning margin to leapfrog Arsenal into tenth.
Team News
Lukasz Fabianski is a doubt for West Ham with an elbow injury which has prevented him from training for much of this week, plus forced him to miss last Saturday’s loss at Manchester City.
Darren Randolph (hip) is also doubtful meaning that should neither he nor Fabianski be fit, Nathan Trott could be handed his maiden Premier League start in goal.
Ryan Fredericks (groin) is unlikely to feature and could join Arthur Masuaku, Andriy Yarmolenko (both knee) and Angelo Ogbonna (ankle) on the sidelines.
Leeds could welcome Jamie Shackleton (adductor) and Kalvin Phillips (calf) back into contention.
Robin Koch and Gaetano Berardi (both knee) aren’t available despite nearing returns from injury but Adam Forshaw (hip) remains a long-term absentee.
Stat Attack
- West Ham have won just one of their last six Premier League meetings against Leeds (W1, D1, L4).
- Leeds have avoided defeat in their last five league trips to West Ham (W3, D2), although this is their first-ever trip to the London Stadium.
- Both teams have scored in their last three meetings in East London, with Leeds avoiding defeat in all three clashes (W1, D2).
- Marcelo Bielsa’s Whites have scored at least twice in three of their five away league matches in 2021 (W2, L3).
- West Ham have failed to lose any of their last seven home games against promoted teams since losing to Wolves in September 2018 (W5, D2).
Prediction
West Ham should feel hard done by last weekend’s defeat at Man City because they turned out a strong confident performance despite sloppy defensive errors costing them, which was a huge surprise given that City are one of their bogey teams.
Leeds meanwhile found themselves in a right scrap against Aston Villa but showed impressive energy and flow to their attacks with teammates helping each other out, although a lack of clinical finishing cost them on top of an early conceded goal.
This match therefore feels like one that could be fast and furious from the get-go if both teams bring their A game, otherwise I can see West Ham getting the win given their form and they will know that they need to win matches like this if want a top four finish even if their home form against Leeds is poor.
Prediction: West Ham 2-1 Leeds United
Result: West Ham 2-0 Leeds United