Kick-off: 1800, 29/12/2020
Stadium: The Hawthorns
TV: Amazon Prime
West Brom showed tremendous courage to hold Liverpool to a draw at Anfield but will face a different kind of challenge when hosting Leeds in the Premier League.
With the pressure on Albion to come out more on home turf, we fear the Whites could be able to pick them off and prevail at The Hawthorns.
Let’s go with an away win at 21/20 for our first West Brom vs Leeds prediction.
A Look At West Bromwich Albion’s Betting Odds
West Brom had just 22 per cent of the possession on Merseyside but restricted the all-conquering Reds to only two shots on target in that 1-1 stalemate.
Albion were content to soak up a ton of pressure following Sadio Mane’s early opener before levelling through Semi Ajayi on 82 minutes when finally opening up late on.
After a trademark smash-and-grab display, Sam Allardyce praised his players for their defensive resilience.
“We’ve got a point against Liverpool, which no-one outside of us in the dressing room thought we’d get,” said Allardyce.
“When the first goal went in, I think a lot of people thought how many was it going to be, particularly after they knocked seven past Palace.
“The players were so good in their discipline, defending as a team, and finding a way in the second half to attack Liverpool when they got the opportunity.
“We couldn’t keep sitting back as we did, we got better and better as the second half went on, creating two or three chances.”
Allardyce’s record of rescuing struggling teams has to be respected but we still need more evidence before believing Albion can add to his list of great escapes.
Looking at the West Brom vs Leeds odds, we like 17/4 for United to win after being level at the break.
Last West Brom line-up: Johnstone, Furlong, Gibbs, Ajayi, O’Shea, Phillips, Diangana, Gallagher, Sawyers, Robinson, Grant.
A Look At Leeds United’s Betting Odds
Leeds enjoyed the rub of the green with a couple of key refereeing decisions when beating Burnley 1-0 but that was still a good response to going down 6-2 at Manchester United.
Patrick Bamford’s superbly-struck early penalty proved decisive, with Illan Meslier then fortunate to be awarded a foul before Ashley Barnes found the back of the net.
“We weren’t able to stop them playing how they wanted, to neutralise them, and although we defended fiercely, the opponent had chances to score,” admitted Marcelo Bielsa.
“But we hung on to the result. It was an energetic and valiant effort by the guys and very decisive.”
Bielsa was without first-choice central defenders Liam Cooper, Robin Koch and Diego Llorente for that contest but midfielder Kalvin Phillips performed admirably when dropping back.
Up front, Bamford once again proved his worth by reaching double figures for the season.
Seven of his 10 top-flight goals have been scored on the road, so 7/2 for him to break the deadlock again here is added to our West Brom vs Leeds betting tips.
Last Leeds line-up: Meslier, Ayling, Struijk, Alioski, Dallas, Harrison, Phillips, Klich, Bamford, Raphinha, Rodrigo.
Additional stats
Last result:
LEEDS 1-0 Burnley – Patrick Bamford (pen)
Liverpool 1-1 WEST BROM – Semi Ajayi
Head-to-head: West Brom 1-1 Leeds, Leeds 1-0 West Brom, Leeds 4-0 West Brom, West Brom 4-1 Leeds
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