Goals, with a side of defensive calamity please

Every road Leeds to goals

The hosts will be gunning to bounce back after last weekend’s 5-1 defeat at the hands of Manchester United. Their first Premier League game at Elland Road for this season seems like the perfect place to start their season in the right way. Marcelo Bielsa’s gung-ho style of football will certainly see similar results to their defeat at Old Trafford reappear throughout the season, but this comes with a reward of having the ability to simply dominate sides. Goals are rarely lacking in any Leeds game, and much of the same can be said about Saturday’s visitors. Everton started life under Rafa Benitez coming back from 0-1 down to beat Southampton 3-1 at Goodison Park. This impressive display is something they’ll look to continue on their travels this season.

Clash of the English strikers

Looking over at the weekend’s Premier League fixtures, this match stood out as a game destined for goals. Both sides are suspect defensively, with Leeds being the main culprit of the two in this department. But when firing on all cylinders, both have an unbelievable attacking output. For the hosts, Patrick Bamford could be the key man up top. He recently signed a new long-term contract, keeping him at the club until 2026. His 17 goals last season ranked him as Leeds’s top scorer last campaign, becoming a regular goalscoring threat when so many had doubted him to step up on to the Premier League stage. Combine his finishing with Raphinha and Jack Harrison’s attacking runs, and this Leeds side are notoriously deadly on the counter attack. The visitors also have a tall, English striker of their own that Bielsa will need to be wary of. Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s aerial presence is something that could cause this shaky Leeds defence all sorts of problems. With Richarlison always close by to create chances of his own a well, this duo that Rafa Benitez has at his disposal are capable of causing real damage to any opposition. Taking a look at each team’s centre back pairings as well, Everton’s Mason Holgate and Michael Keane partnership isn’t one likely to fill any Evertonian with heaps of confidence. From a Leeds perspective, neither Liam Cooper nor Pascal Struijk are the least error-prone at the back and tasked with a lively Calvert-Lewin could see them concede a few back on home turf.

Tactical masterminds do battle

All of the above mean that there should be goals fired in at both ends in abundance in this game. I’d almost be tempted to go for a higher goals market, but I feel you get more than decent value here with the context of both sides and how they set up with their given personnel. Rafa certainly has the tactical nous to exploit Leeds’s glaring weaknesses shown in the season’s opener, but Bielsa will certainly have a trick or two up his sleeve to cause Everton several problems at the back,

This could well be the game of the weekend, with both sides playing such attacking football. If you’re tempted by the over 3.5 goals market, I don’t blame you. But I’m sticking with over 2.5 goals here with bet365.

Bet Over 2.5 goals on Bet365