Leeds United were dealt a heavy defeat against Brentford the last time the sides met, coming out of West London on the end of a 5-2 scoreline.
The pressure has mounted significantly on Jesse Marsch of late, with Leeds hovering just above safety on 17 points, just two points above bottom of the table heading into the weekend, leaving Leeds fans rightfully concerned and frustrated with the state of affairs at the wrong end of the table.
Brentford is the start of a significant run of fixtures for the Whites. They play Nottingham Forest, Manchester United, Everton, and Southampton in the next four league games after the visit of the Bees at Elland Road.
What are some of the weaknesses Brentford will look to expose again, having already handed out a 5-2 thrashing? We take a look at TWO of each, here.
Width
Leeds often press narrowly when they counter-press, and if this is bypassed there is often lots of space left out wide for a switched ball to expose.
The full-backs can therefore be isolated one-vs-one and Brentford have a lot of pace in these situations. They are especially dangerous on the counter-attack in springing chances quickly down the sides.
They often set up with two wide forwards, be that in a 4-3-3 or 3-4-3, and will create wide overloads to kill Leeds in this area of the pitch. It was effective last time the sides met and expect them to have some joy this time, too.
Quiz: Can you remember Leeds United’s last 15 results v Brentford ahead of Premier League clash?
Press resistance
Leeds have some tidy ball playing and press-resistant midfielders in their ranks, but not many of their central defenders possess this quality.
Thomas Frank’s side are one of the best pressing sides in the league, and this was particularly evident in the 5-2 win last time out. They won’t give Leeds’ centre-backs a moment of peace and will expose what is a major weakness for Leeds with ball retention in this position.
Leeds’ centre-backs were prone to mistakes in the reverse fixture, with both Diego Llorente and Robin Koch having days to forget. The pair were at fault for at least one of the goals each and Leeds simply cannot afford to have the same individual mistakes on show at Elland Road this time around.
Should Robin Koch start every game?
Yes
No
