West Bromwich Albion vs Leeds United; Sky Bet Championship
West Bromwich Albion vs Leeds United. Sky Bet Championship.
The HawthornsAttendance25,618.
West Brom vs Leeds preview: Championship clash live on Sky Sports Football
Watch live on Sky Sports Football or Sky Sports Mix (Sky channel 145) from 5pm on New Year's Day; kick-off is at 5.15pm
Wednesday 1 January 2020 16:48, UK
West Brom face Leeds in the Sky Bet Championship on New Year's Day, live on Sky Sports Football.
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Team news
Slaven Bilic could include defender Kyle Bartley when his West Brom squad host Leeds in a table-topping Sky Bet Championship clash on New Year's Day. The centre-back is fit to return having watched Sunday's 2-0 defeat to Middlesbrough from the bench after recovering from an ankle injury.
Midfielder Grady Diangana remains doubtful with a back issue. Kieran Gibbs could also miss out again after leaving the pitch during the 1-1 draw with Barnsley on Boxing Day and consequently missing the Middlesbrough game.
Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds are tied with West Brom on points at the top the table on goal difference. The squad could still be missing Pablo Hernandez, who is sidelined with a hamstring issue.
Adam Forshaw is also doubtful as he continues to struggle with a long-term hip injury. Arsenal are expected to recall Eddie Nketiah from his loan spell at Elland Road during the January transfer window, meaning an appearance at The Hawthorns could be his 14th and final game in a Leeds shirt.
Recent form
West Brom's form has been suffering over the last few weeks and, after successive 1-1 draws with Brentford and Barnsley, they were dealt their maiden home defeat of the season against Middlesbrough on December 29.
Leeds, meanwhile, finished 2019 at the Championship summit after bettering the Baggies' defeat on Sunday, when they edged Birmingham in an enthralling 5-4 win. That came after a run of three games without a win.
Latest highlights
Opta stats
West Brom have won four of their last five home league games against Leeds, with their only defeat in this sequence coming in the Premier League in August 2002.
Leeds have won their last two league matches - both at Elland Road - against West Brom by an aggregate score of 5-0, having lost 4-1 in this exact fixture last season.
West Brom have lost six of their last eight league matches on New Year's Day (W1 D1), losing last season against Blackburn Rovers.
Live EFL
This is the first time Leeds will start play their first league match of a new decade away from home since 1970, when they hammered Chelsea 5-2 at Stamford Bridge under Don Revie.
West Brom have lost their first league match of a calendar year in 10 of the last 14 years (W3 D1), though they won the last time it was played at the Hawthorns in 2017, a 3-1 win over Hull City.
Patrick Bamford has scored two goals in two Championship games against West Brom for Leeds, however both of those strikes came at Elland Road in March 2019.
Prutton's prediction
This should be a great game! Only goal difference separates the two sides at the top of the table heading into it, and whoever wins will be taking another big step towards automatic promotion. West Brom suffered just their second defeat of the season on Sunday, while Leeds won an incredible game 5-4 at Birmingham. Safe to say I didn't predict that particular scoreline!
Leeds edged this one when the two sides met at Elland Road earlier in the season, and it's such a tough game to call. The sides below will hope it's a draw so both teams drop points, and I think both will.
David Prutton predicts: 2-2 (12/1 with Sky Bet)
