Leeds United are still in search of their first win of the 2023/24 EFL Championship campaign as they face West Bromwich Albion this weekend.
Leeds United currently sit 19th in the EFL Championship with one draw and one loss from their opening two league fixtures.
It's been a turbulent time for Leeds both on and off the pitch so far this season in what seems to be par for the course for this club.
Having been relegated last season, Leeds are still paying a financial price for a number of egregiously constructed deals signed by previous sporting director Victor Orta, including belatedly paying off deals for previously signed subpar players and other members of the squad leaving for well below their market value thanks to baffling exit clauses inserted into contracts by Orta.
Not only that but star attackers Wilfried Gnonto and Luis Sinisterra, the latter allegedly, have refused to play for the team during the last two matches and are actively trying to force transfers away from the club.
As such, a side decimated by injuries, a lack of a transfer budget and players refusing to represent the club have had an unsurprisingly poor start to the campaign.
A 2-2 draw at home to Cardiff City, a game than Gnonto and Sinisterra did play, on the opening ay was followed by an unconvincing 2-1 win against League One Shrewsbury Town in the EFL Cup before a vastly weakened Leeds XI fell to a 1-0 defeat at Birmingham City last weekend.
The start to the season has, then, been less than ideal for The Whites and with Gnonto and Sinisterra seemingly heading for an exit off the back of a number of other first team players departing it feels as though Leeds need to have a very, very strong end to this transfer window to keep their promotion hopes alive.
As far as this game is concerned the odds are stacked against them given their injury absentees so they'll have to hope the Elland Road crowd can rally behind them in pursuit of three points.
West Bromwich Albion currently sit 14th in the EFL Championship with one win and one defeat from their first two matches this season.
The Baggies began their campaign with a 2-1 defeat away at Blackburn Rovers before making amends with a 3-2 win over Swansea City last time out.
The win against Swansea was an impressive one having gone 3-0 up after 64 minutes and despite a nervy finish with The Swans reducing the deficit to just one goal they will take plenty of confidence from the fact they saw out a tight finish.
West Brom are expected by many to mount a serious play-off push this season so they'll want to kick on and take what would be a big three points from a trip to Elland Road.
In normal circumstances this would be a game The Baggies would he happy to take a point from but given how depleted Leeds are they'll really be looking to come away with all the spoils in this one.
West Brom should be quietly confident of their chances here even if Elland Road is never an easy place to visit.
For our Leeds vs. West Brom prediction, we're going for a 1-1 draw.
Don’t forget to check out the rest of our previews, tips and offers for this weekend’s action.
