Upton Park
Saturday 25th August, 2001Leeds
United1Games2 ATTACKING 1Goals
scored41.00Ave goals per game2.00100%Shooting Accuracy33%33%Goals
to shots
%22% PASSING 351Passes67180%Pass
completion %72% DEFENDING 65%Tackle
success rate %75%2Goals conceded12.00Ave goals conceded per
game0.50 DISCIPLINE 18Fouls455Yellow
cards40Red cards26,786OPTA INDEX SCORE8,419
West Ham v Leeds
With less than a week of the new campaign behind them Leeds have already displayed a ravenous hunger for the championship after disposing of Southampton and Arsenal in their opening two fixtures. And David O'Leary's eager beaver title-chasers will be gunning for more points in the East End on Saturday when they return to the capital.
The momentous midweek victory in north London was somewhat overshadowed by the red cards shown to Lee Bowyer and Danny Mills, but Leeds' resilience was key, as O'Leary acknowledged: "We showed a great spirit of togetherness. They did superbly at the end trying to block and cover for each other. The spirit got us through."
West Ham are in need of a similar team ethic after a thoroughly downbeat start to the season. Goalkeeper David James remains sidelined after sustaining an injury while on England duty against Holland and an opening day defeat at Anfield did little to lift Glenn Roeder's troops from the doldrums.
Influential striker Freddie Kanoute is still on the treatment table and the Hammers dearly missed his attacking pedigree last weekend. West Ham's solitary goal came courtesy of a penalty dispatched by Paolo Di Canio and only two further efforts caused Liverpool 'keeper Pegguy Arphexad any concern during the 90 minutes.
Meanwhile, sharpshooters Leeds have netted an average of two goals a game, despite landing just a third of their overall efforts on target. It must be equally encouraging for the manager that strikers Alan Smith and Mark Viduka have already opened their accounts, especially as the latter failed to score until his fourth appearance last term.
Full-back Ian Harte was a regular source of attacking artillery for the Elland Road club last season and he finished the campaign as the highest scoring defender in the Premiership. The Gunners had obviously failed to note this minor fact and the Irishman duly punished them with a trademark set-piece goal on Tuesday night.
With the visitors proving they can mix it in the physical stakes, the Hammers will have to be at their steely best and that will mean a marked improvement on last season's showing. West Ham won a lower percentage of their tackles (69%) than any other Premiership side, while Leeds achieved the fifth highest rate and topped the disciplinary chart for their trouble.
The corresponding fixture in 2000-01 ended in a comprehensive 2-0 win for the Whites and the bookmaker's are tempting punters with odds of 8/1 for a repeat performance - which may not be money wasted.
Mark Willis
Matchday Referee: P Durkin
Hand picked as one of the elite group of 24 full-time Premiership referees, Paul Durkin hopes that the new innovation will 'be a steady, progressive evolution' as do the majority of fans no doubt. He flashed just one yellow card in the Derby versus Blackburn clash and will be keen to continue this mellow approach.
Referee's Name FoulsPenaltiesYellow CardsRed CardsAve
Disc pointsP Durkin2401027.00
PLAYER HEAD-TO-HEAD
click below for in-depth comparisonTodorov v Viduka
TEAM NEWS
Hammers duo Paolo di Canio and Svetoslav Todorov will continue their alliance up front with Frederic Kanoute still suffering from a hamstring injury. Shaka Hislop keeps his place in goal for the injured David James. Leeds striker Alan Smith picked up an ankle knock in midweek against Arsenal and is likely to be replaced by Robbie Keane up front. Rio Ferdinand and Eirik Bakke should shake off thigh and hamstring injuries respectively.
MATCH BETTING
click on links below to place a wagerMatch Result
West Ham2/1Draw9/4Leeds11/10Correct Score West Ham
1-015/2West Ham 2-012/1West Ham 2-110/1West Ham 3-033/1West Ham
3-125/1West Ham 3-228/1West Ham 4-0100/1West Ham 4-180/1West Ham
4-2100/1West Ham 5-0100/1Draw 0-08/1Draw 1-111/2Draw 2-214/1Draw
3-350/1Leeds 1-06/1Leeds 2-08/1Leeds 2-17/1Leeds 3-016/1Leeds
3-116/1Leeds 3-225/1Leeds 4-040/1Leeds 4-133/1Leeds 4-250/1Leeds
5-0100/1Leeds 5-1100/1Double Result West Ham/West
Ham9/2West Ham/Draw16/1West Ham/Leeds28/1Draw/West
Ham11/2Draw/Draw7/2Draw/Leeds4/1Leeds/West
Ham33/1Leeds/Draw16/1Leeds/Leeds5/2First
Goalscorer P Di Canio6/1Todorov13/2J Defoe7/1J Cole12/1T
Sinclair16/1S Moncur20/1Carrick20/1Courtois25/1Mccann33/1R
Song40/1S Schmemel40/1S Potts50/1C Dailly50/1R Soma50/1N
Winterburn50/1No Goalscorer8/1M Viduka11/2A Smith6/1R Keane13/2H
Kewell15/2L Bowyer10/1I Harte14/1E Bakke20/1O Dacourt20/1J
Wilcox20/1S Mcphail25/1J Burns40/1D Batty40/1D Matteo40/1J
Woodgate50/1D Mills50/1M Duberry50/1G Kelly50/1R
Ferdinand50/1For all these bets + much more go now to
www.whufcbet.co.uk
By Road:
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