Leeds United vs West Ham – Preview, Lineups, Score Prediction

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Inside Futbol

·24 October 2025

Leeds United vs West Ham – Preview, Lineups, Score Prediction

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The jubilance and enthusiasm that had been generated following Leeds United’s promotion from the Championship, has started to fade quickly. There is a sense of tension around Elland Road, a hint of which could be found when West Ham visit Yorkshire tonight.

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Back-to-back losses against Tottenham Hotspur and Burnley have thinned the breathing space they enjoyed over other relegation battlers. Now there is a three-point gap that separates Leeds from 18th placed Nottingham Forest.

Manager Daniel Farke has admitted he will need to take some late decisions on team selection, while also admitting there has been some illness in the camp.

West Ham, on the other hand, find themselves in troubled waters, trailing their Friday night opponents by four points. They have parted ways with Graham Potter but a change in management has not been able to change their fortunes yet.

Nuno Espirito Santo has lost two of the three games he has been in charge of and needs results to turn the tide in his team’s favour. The Leeds game will be seen as a golden opportunity to do that, given the similarity in fate of the two sides.

He will though be without defender Konstantinos Mavropanos, who picked up an injury against Brentford, while Niclas Fullkrug is also expected to miss out.

Nuno will need no telling about just how important a win away at Leeds could be, as it could be the spark West Ham’s season needs.

The Hammers are already thinking about strengthening in January and scouted one target in the Champions League earlier this week, in the shape of Club Brugge’s Romeo Vermant.

Both sides need to improve when it comes to being clinical and taking their chances and that could be the key tonight.

It is expected to be a crunch game between two struggling teams in the division, who will play their hearts out to get results in their favour. For the neutrals, all expectations are of a mouth-watering clash.

Recent Form (league)

Leeds United: LLDWL West Ham: LLDLL

Key Men

Leeds United

For the home team, the onus has to be on their main striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin. For Leeds United to kick on, the summer signing simply has to start scoring.

Former goalkeeper Nigel Martyn has backed him to start scoring soon and Farke has insisted that he can revive his career with the Whites.

There could not be any better opportunity to find the missing link than against a team that are extremely low on confidence.

Farke does not like to make too many changes to his starting eleven and the onus will yet again be on yet another usual suspect in Sean Longstaff. His deliveries from set-pieces can be crucial for a side that boast significant aerial presence.

West Ham United

The Hammers will count on the experience of their manager Nuno Espirito Santo to get them over the line. Nuno knows how to handle pressure and did a good job with his last team Nottingham Forest. He needs time to implement his tactics, but maybe the Leeds game can be turning point.

Leeds are expected to be a threat in the air and defender Max Kilman will need to be on form to deal with the battles that come his way.

At the other end of the pitch, Lucas Paqueta will hold the key to the West Ham attack. He already has two goals and was used as the front man by Nuno in their last match. It will be an opportunity for him to add to his tally and silence his critics.

Match Prediction

It will definitely be a tough one to call against two teams fighting to keep their heads up. Both will feel equal needs to win to get themselves away from the drop zone.

But given that the Whites are playing at home, in front of their home fans, they will hold a slight advantage.

The Whites have an impressive 1.64 xG at home, compared to West Ham’s 1.22 away from home. However, the Hammers have a better away record, having accumulated four points from four games on the road.

From that point of view, they are even better than teams such as Manchester United and Newcastle United.

Nuno could well be able to find the right formula at Elland Road and if West Ham can take an early lead, Leeds could find it tough to claw back.