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8 min: Early days of course, but Leeds have enjoyed 68 percent of possession so far.
7 min: Okafor skips past Kudus on the left touchline with ease and flair. He prepares to zip past Porro too, but the full-back is having none of it, and gets a shoulder in. Free kick. That could be a booking, too. Longstaff sends the set piece towards the far post. Vicario comes off his line and gets nowhere near the ball. Rodon meets the ball with a strong header, but crashes it off the post. With the keeper on walkabout, he probably should have scored. But that’s pretty darn close.
5 min: The corner comes in from the left and falls to Stach on the right-hand edge of the D. Stach volleys but slices horribly wide left. The ball pings off Ampadu’s head en route to the stand, but doesn’t go any nearer to the goal.
4 min: Longstaff and Stach both win 50-50 challenges in midfield to get Leeds on the front foot. Romero thinks Stach has handled the ball, but again the referee lets things flow. The first corner of the game is won.
3 min: A cracking atmosphere at Elland Road, by the way. Like that’s breaking news. One of the great old-school theatres.
2 min: Bogle sends a long pass down the right for Calvert-Lewin, who is skittled to the ground by Van de Ven. You’ve seen free kicks given for much less, but the referee waves play on and the ball sails out for a goal kick. It’s a contact sport, I guess.
Spurs get the ball rolling. No wind! No rain! Storm Amy can do one.
The teams are out! Noah Butterfield, 3, lost his sight while battling illness but gained a pal in Leeds captain Ethan Ampadu. The pair hold hands as they lead the players onto the pitch. Little Noah in a 1970s smiley hat, the star of the show. Leeds in white, Spurs in black. We’ll be off in a minute.
This from our man at the ground! The Guardian, comin’ atcha from all angles. You’re welcome.
Twenty minutes before kick-off and it is threatening to turn into a beautiful autumn day at sun-drenched Elland Road, writes our reporter Ross Heppenstall.
Archie Gray is on the bench for Spurs but there will be no match-up with his younger brother Harry, 16, who is a nursing a minor hip injury and doesn’t make the Leeds bench. Archie, 19, will hope to make it onto the pitch at some point today to face his boyhood club.
He spoke to the Guardian in December 2023 in his first-ever major interview about his career trajectory and hopes and dreams …
Daniel Farke talks to TNT. “This is why we were so desperate to be back in the Premier League … to have this type of game … a top side … we know we have to be at our very best today to have a chance to win points … performance-wise I am pleased we have been competitive … it is good not to have to rotate too much … I am pleased with my squad.”
Thomas Frank speaks to TNT Sports. “We try to find the balance between consistency and freshness in the team … Richarlison has done two 90 minutes in a row … hopefully [Mathys Tel] will have a good performance today … [Xavi Simons] has been solid with good glimpses … it is a month ago he has arrived … I am happy with what I have seen but there is more to come … all areas need adding layers … solidness and mentality at set pieces has been lifted … creating enough is the next bit … the most difficult thing in football … relationships … we will keep working on it … there has been energy in all of our games … very happy with that … I’m aware this is a difficult place to go … but we are ready.”
Leeds drew 2-2 with Bournemouth last weekend. In fact they very nearly beat them. A result that is maturing better than fine wine. Look!
As a result, they’re unchanged. Spurs by contrast have made three changes to their starting XI from the 1-1 draw with Wolves last weekend. Mathys Tel, Pedro Porro and Wilson Odobert come in for Richarlison, Lucas Bergvall and Djed Spence, all of whom drop to the bench.
The teams
Leeds United: Darlow, Bogle, Rodon, Struijk, Gudmundsson, Longstaff, Ampadu, Stach, Aaronson, Calvert-Lewin, Okafor.
Subs: Meslier, Piroe, Nmecha, Bijol, Harrison, Tanaka, Bornauw, Justin, Gruev.
Tottenham Hotspur: Vicario, Porro, Romero, van de Ven, Udogie, Joao Palhinha, Bentancur, Kudus, Simons, Odobert, Tel.
Subs: Kinsky, Danso, Richarlison, Gray, Bergvall, Johnson, Spence, Sarr, Davies.
Referee: Thomas Bramall (Sheffield).
Preamble
The team lying fifth plays one sitting comfortably in 12th at the start of play … so given the lack of any significant historical enmity between the two clubs, there can’t be too much jeopardy in this one, can there?
Well perhaps not. However. Tottenham have won their last four matches against Leeds, scoring four goals in each of the last three. Widen the focus, and they’ve won nine of the last 11 meetings in the Premier League. If they score another four today, they’ll become the first club in history to notch that number in three consecutive visits to Elland Road.
So there’s plenty of pride on the line for Leeds, who will lean on their excellent home form: they’ve gone a full year without losing a league game on their own turf, a run that takes in 23 matches. One sequence or another has to snap today, then. Or maybe both. We’ll find out what’s what from 12.30pm UK time. It’s on!
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