Leeds United manager Daniel Farke is feeling the heat after a run of one win in seven and back-to-back league defeats. With the Whites preparing to face another relegation rival in West Ham on Friday night, the German head coach is under pressure to get a positive result at Elland Road.
A tame 2-0 defeat at Burnley on Saturday has piled the pressure on Farke and his players. The Leeds boss believes his team dominated the game, but it was clear that the home side were happy to let the Whites control the ball and just picked them off to get the three points at Turf Moor.
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Leeds had more of the ball and created chances. However, their profligacy in front of goal has cost them a few points this season, and it will continue to haunt them for the rest of the campaign if not addressed.
Burnley were happy to be without the ball for large parts of the game and were playing on the counter. Leeds walked into a trap set by Scott Parker, and West Ham boss Nuno Espirito Santo would definitely know what to do at Elland Road on Friday night.
West Ham will lay the same trap for Leeds United as Burnley
West Ham are struggling and had to change managers early in the season to avoid a complete disaster. Nuno Espirito Santo has come in and has tried to make the Hammers hard to beat.
Leeds have won one in seven, but they will be favourites to get a positive result at home against West Ham. However, it won’t be straightforward, and Farke must learn from his mistakes against Burnley.
West Ham will be happy to let Leeds control possession and will be playing on the counter, hoping to use the pace in their forward line to get behind the Whites’ defence.
Leeds have looked the better team, and have outperformed the Hammers in most metrics, except one, and that is where West Ham will look to exploit.
West Ham are a better team than Leeds in transitions and will look to play on the counter against Farke’s team, who like to have more control of the ball.
Burnley did the same and ensured that they remained compact in defence while picking off Leeds on turnovers.
The Hammers will set the same trap for Leeds and hope to get the most out of the counter-attacking situations at Elland Road.
Farke must avoid the same mistakes to ensure he doesn’t get sacked
The Leeds manager is on a shorter leash in the Premier League, and a defeat against West Ham on Friday night could be really damaging to his reputation.
The Burnley defeat has already taken the sheen off Leeds’ solid start to life back in the Premier League, but a defeat at Elland Road could spell doom.
He has credit in the bank for helping Leeds get promoted back to the Premier League, but three defeats on the trot, with two of them against relegation rivals, could really put the pressure on the board to make a decision.
West Ham will pose similar challenges to Burnley, and the Leeds manager must demonstrate that he has learned from the defeat at Turf Moor.
He must also bin his blind loyalty towards certain players and make the changes needed to pick his team up again.
Farke will hope that the Elland Road atmosphere will push his Leeds side to do better and arrest the rot with a win over West Ham.
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