Leeds vs. Brentford Betting Tips: Two bets for Sunday's televised clash
Leeds host Brentford on Sunday, with the game at Elland Road kicking off at 2pm. These two teams are both recently promoted but it is the visitors having the better season thus far. With different targets for the teams as the second half of the season gets underway, both will be desperate to grab all three points in Yorkshire.
Billy Grimshaw is in the previewing hot-seat for us for this match and has a couple of bets worth backing...
The bottom half of the Premier League is as congested as it has been for some time as we hit the halfway stage in the season, and this is an awful time to be on a winless run. Home side Leeds are in the midst of just that, with their record now stretching back five games without a win. They are in 14th but just two points clear of basement boys Southampton in 20th. Make no mistake, they are in a relegation fight and winning your home games is always crucial in those. After a confidence-boosting FA Cup win over Cardiff to stop the rot, Jesse Marsch's side will be hopeful they can kick on.
Brentford on the other hand are having a stunning season. They have taken some big scalps in both Manchester clubs and Liverpool and have only lost once in their previous 10 Premier League outings. Thomas Frank's side sit eighth in the table, above both Liverpool and Chelsea, and will be dreaming of European football next season. Surprisingly, a Brentford victory is the outsider in the outright market with Leeds to win the favourite. This is despite The Bees winning the reverse fixture 5-2 back in September and the team's respective form and league position.
Leeds vs Brentford Tips
As readers can probably tell from the tone in the introduction, the pricing in the outright market just seems way off here despite Leeds holding home advantage. This is one of the form teams in the league, who have a decent record on the road, travelling to one of the sides in the worst form. Frank's men look better than ever and having won four of their last five and possessing one of the most in-form goal grabbers in the league in Ivan Toney, they should have too much for their hosts.
A further stat in The Bees' favour is their fine goalscoring form across the team of late. In their previous six games, the lowest tally they have finished a game with is two goals scored! Leeds on the other hand are looking clunky in attack and porous at the back, conceding 2 or more goals in 3 of their 4 Premier League games since returning from the World Cup (the other was a dour 0-0 affair with Newcastle).
The pressure would really mount on Marsch were he to lose this one but we think he is coming up against an elite manager with a team in flying form who are being disrespected in the market.
Were it not for the otherworldly goalscoring statistics Erling Haaland is positing in Sky Blue, more fuss would definitely be being made of the season Ivan Toney is having for Brentford. Admittedly, he has the prospect of a long ban hanging over his head and the lack of communication surrounding that from the FA is mysterious, but it doesn't seem to be affecting him much!
In his last six games, Toney has found the net at least once, a superb scoring run. He is attractively priced in the simpler anytime goalscorer market too, but for our longer-priced play we will back him to open the scoring at a tasty looking 5/1 with Paddy Power and Betfair. Leeds' defence is often found wanting and if they have any lapses in concentration early doors against a Brentford side that can cause chaos for their opposition, it will be Toney who is the chief beneficiary.
Finally, with Toney's outstanding record from the spot and the propensity for Leeds defenders to commit dumb fouls in really dumb areas, this is another plus point for our punt.
