After an encouraging pre-season from Daniel Farke’s men, it’s time for the real thing as Leeds United begin their second season back in the Premier League with a trip away to take on Nottingham Forest on Saturday.
Last season, a late Lukas Nmecha penalty sent Elland Road barmy as we defeated Everton in our first game of the campaign. So a similar result against Forest this time round would be nice.
Gary Neville and Roy Keane recently had their say on the upcoming game. Neville believed we would pick up a point on the road. Keane predicted us to lose against his former side.
Now, a BBC pundit has also given his opinion on our upcoming clash with Forest. But it seems as though the game has given him plenty to ponder.
Chris Sutton predicts outcome of Nottingham Forest vs Leeds
In the first Premier League prediction column of the season for BBC Sport, Chris Sutton shared his thoughts on United ahead of their opening game.
The former Norwich striker admitted he was “delighted for Leeds boss Daniel Farke that he proved people wrong by keeping them up last year.”
Sutton also believes there will be an increase in expectations following some of the shrewd business we have conducted this summer.
“There will be high hopes they can stay out of trouble this time after signing Harry Wilson, who was so good for Fulham, and James Trafford is an excellent buy too,” Sutton said.
The game at the weekend will be Oliver Glasner’s first in charge of Forest after a trophy-laden spell at Crystal Palace.
Naturally, this brings an element of the unknown to the game against Leeds, which Sutton rightly pointed out.
“I am covering this game for Radio 5 Live, but it is almost impossible to predict. Glasner usually went with a 3-4-3 shape at Palace but has gone on record saying he works with what he has got, so I am not sure how they will line up for this game.
“It will be very interesting to see how Forest start, and how Glasner fares. Will he still be there in September?”
Sutton’s final verdict? A 1-1 draw, in what would be a solid start to the season for Leeds.
Opta’s supercomputer does not share Chris Sutton’s enthusiasm
Whilst Sutton predicted us to pick up a point, this was not deemed to be the most likely outcome by Opta’s supercomputer.
Opta’s supercomputer gave Forest a 44% chance of picking up a win
Our chances of winning sit at 30%, on the other hand
Meaning the chance of a draw occurring is said to be 26%
A big factor in how we get on against Forest could come down to the availability of Noah Okafor. The 26-year-old is such an outlet for us down that left-hand side.
Speaking on the Swiss winger in his press conference, Farke said, “Every training day helps; two pre-season games already.
“Right now he’s progressing; we let him do some extra running. It’s not just to have him for the next two games; we need him for 11 months. He’s healthy and available, has been training for nearly two weeks, and he’s ready to be picked. But it’s my responsibility to see if it makes sense. We’ll make some late decisions,” as quoted by the Yorkshire Evening Post.
Personally, I could see Farke deploying Brenden Aaronson out on the left to start in an attempt to keep things sured up. Then, if the game is there for taking, at half-time or even on the hour mark, it seems like it is a real possibility that Okafor could feature in the game, which is just a massive boost for us.
However, with or without Okafor, I’m relatively confident that we return to West Yorkshire with at least a point. Hopefully it takes time for Forest’s players to adapt to their new manager.
prsiswnFLkLX
WmOB4hsMGwJn
prsilYfQ1Mw6