Michael Owen predicts Leeds v West Ham clash
Michael Owen believes that West Ham are going to shade the game against Leeds United at the London Stadium tonight.
Leeds are currently in 11th place in the league and would need to score a lot of goals to jump ahead of Arsenal into the top-half of the table.
West Ham could leap all the way to 4th with a win.
Writing in his regular column for BetVictor Owen said, “Two sides I’ve loved watching this season, West Ham and Leeds go head-to-head in what should be an entertaining contest.
“Leeds have been box office at times this season, however, they come up against one of the most organised sides in the Premier League.
“There’s not an awful lot between these two, especially going forward.
“That said, Leeds worry me at the back, and I think this West Ham front line can take advantage. It’s 2-1 to the Hammers for me.”
London curse on the line
The reverse fixture between these two sides came down to a battle of set pieces and West Ham came out on top.
Leeds took the lead through an early Mateusz Klich penalty before headed goals from Tomas Soucek and Angelo Ogbonna (25th and 80th minutes) gave West Ham the win.
Raphinha has been looking exceptionally smart for Leeds from set-pieces recently and Diego Llorente will be looking for his first headed goal for the club.
However, keeping Soucek and Michail Antonio quiet is the key tonight.
Kalvin Phillips is back and that’s a big boost for Leeds, but Leeds fans know they’re up against it. Not only are the Hammers flying high but Leeds have got the London curse to contend with.
Leeds haven’t won in London since December 2017 and 15 games have gone by since then. Try telling Leeds fans the curse isn’t real.
The bookies think the curse will continue as well. They’ve got West Ham at around evens to win, with an away win priced at 5/2. The draw is 5/2 as well.
In other Leeds United news, Leeds handed major boost over Kalvin Phillips for clash v West Ham