Will Leeds finally manage their first league win in 2021/22?

Six games have been played in the motherland of football so far. While only one team has not yet suffered a single defeat, there are no less than their five teams who are still waiting for their first win in 2021/22 so far. Among them is the team of veteran coach Marcelo Bielsa. On Saturday afternoon, Leeds United’s Whites will be hoping for their first win of the season against Watford

Leeds were one of the big positive surprises last season and have yet to reward themselves despite thoroughly appealing performances. The bookmakers are not blinded by the winless streak and see the home side as clear favourites. Only odds of 1.80 are offered for a home win by Leeds against Watford. A win for the Hornets in suburban London, on the other hand, will fetch almost five times the odds.

The Premier League returnees have been building confidence of late, picking up four points in their last two league games. The momentum is in Watford’s favour, but the quality is in Leeds’ favour. What will ultimately be the deciding factor? We’ll have the answers on Saturday from 4pm.

Leeds – Statistics & current form

The two fellow promoted teams West Bromwich Albion and Fulham were downright overwhelmed in the English top flight and had to accept direct relegation. Leeds, on the other hand, made a big splash with an attractive style of play and ultimately only missed out on international business by a hair’s breadth.

Negative record threatened

Bielsa’s side were only three points behind Tottenham Hotspurs, who finished seventh in the table and secured their Conference League ticket. The Whites’ results so far this season are all the more surprising. After six games, Bielsa’s side are still without a full win and have only managed a draw three times. In the other three games, the Bielsa team lost out and is currently only 18th in the table.

If the betting on a Leeds win between Leeds and Watford on Saturday afternoon is again unsuccessful, it will mean the worst start to a season in the club’s history for Leeds. No win in their first seven games is unprecedented in the Whites’ 94-year league history.

Bitter last minute defeat

The performances on show have been very promising for long stretches, but Leeds are failing to reward themselves at present. The best example of this was last weekend’s league game, when Leeds conceded the decisive goal in injury time.

This means that Bielsa’s side have already given away five points this season after taking the lead. In comparison, Leeds dropped just six points (!) from a lead last season

Predicted Leeds line-up:
Meslier – Junior Firpo, Cooper, Cresswell, Shackleton – Phillips – James, Klich, Dallas, Raphinha – Rodrigo

Last matches played by Leeds:

Watford – Statistics & current form

Sir Elton John’s favourite club could cheer their return to the Premier League at the first attempt after relegation. For the team of Spanish head coach Xisco, the big goal this season is to stay in the league.

Negative trend stopped

The Hornets made a perfect start to the season with a 3-2 home win over Aston Villa, but then the promoted side conceded three defeats in a row. This negative trend was stopped in the promotion duel with Norwich City thanks to a 3:1 away win. Prior to that win at Farke’s side, Watford had lost eight away games in a row in the Premier League (in addition to the games so far this season, this includes the last games from the 2019/20 relegation year).

The Xisco eleven also wrote in last weekend, drawing 1-1 at home to Newcastle United. Senegalese Ismaila Sarr scored his fourth goal of the season. It is worth noting that Sarr has the second most shots on goal in the PL this season with 11 (Salah has 15).

This upward trend is a bit bitter from an Austrian point of view, because goalkeeper Daniel Bachmann was injured in the away win in Norwich and now had to guard the bench against the Magpies as well. Veteran Ben Foster (38 years) has now replaced him again. The current success (four points from two games) gives Xisco no reason to change and so Daniel Bachmann will again only be guarding the bench.

Predicted Watford line-up:
Foster – Rose, Cathcart, Troost-Ekong, Femenia – Kucka, Sissoko – Dennis, Cleverley, Sarr – King

Last matches played by Watford:

Leeds – Watford Direct Comparison / H2H Record

The only time this clash has taken place in the English Premier League was in the 1999/2000 season, when the Whites had the better end of both home and away games. However, the recent past speaks in favour of the Hornets from the capital, as Watford have won each of the last three league games against Leeds. In addition, the current promoted team has gone five away games at Leeds United without defeat.

Watford have scored no less than 16 goals in these five games, so a goal festival is to be expected and accordingly a prediction of over 2.5 is a good idea for Leeds against Watford. Especially as Leeds have not scored in any of their ten league home games against Watford.

Leeds – Watford Tip

With the Bielsa eleven the old thesis “the second year is the most difficult” is currently true. After a very strong season last year, things are not yet going according to plan for Leeds. However, the performances have been quite appealing over long periods. Accordingly, the low odds for a home win in the duel between Leeds and Watford are absolutely justifiable. Watford have been able to hold their own in the league so far, but the home side are certainly stronger.

Despite their recent away win over the Canaries of Norwich, Watford are a class below at home to Vicarage Road. Memories of Elland Road are very positive, however, as the Hornets have scored at least once in all ten league games. The combination of “fair favourites” and “never played to nil against Watford at Elland Road” results in the Leeds vs Watford prediction on the home win & Both to score A somewhat riskier choice, which nevertheless has good chances of success, four units are recommended as a stake for this tip