MOT View: Sky Sports’ glowing coverage of West Brom star could highlight who Leeds need to watch
The first day of the New Year will bring along most likely one of the most important games Leeds United will face.
A trip to the Midlands would have brought around some bad memories if it wasn’t for the crazy 5-4 victory at Birmingham on Sunday.
Last season, the Whites crumbled at the Hawthorns and were torn apart by the Baggies in a 4-1 defeat. It was the first time we had seen another side blow a Marcelo Bielsa team away at a point where we felt invincible.
Flash forward to this campaign though, and Leeds were the only team to beat West Brom before Middlesbrough did the same over the weekend.
So, Bielsa will want to try and recreate that result on New Years Day, and his intensive scouting and analysis team will be dissecting every last part of the Baggies as we speak.
One player that they will need to watch is midfield maestro Romaine Sawyers – a pivotal part of Slaven Bilic’s system.
Sawyers has been the standout performer in the Midlands this season, and Sky Sports have recently covered him in glowing praise.
The 28-year-old has completed the most successful passes in the opposition half in the entire division with 744 – which is 111 more than Leeds’ best player, Mateusz Klich.
Sawyers has also attempted 96 long balls with the best success rate in the Championship as well, two stats that prove he is the player that makes it tick for West Brom.
West Brom clearly missed Sawyers in their defeat to Middlesbrough, and players such as Klich and Kalvin Phillips will need to be at the top of their game to disrupt his rhythm.
It will be a big game for Stuart Dallas, who despite impressing recently, clearly isn’t a central midfielder and if he is caught out of position defensively, Sawyers could be the one to take advantage of that.
In other Leeds United news, ‘I have to tell you’ – £25k/wk Leeds-linked player talks about potential January move