Leeds vs West Ham Prediction: More misery for rudderless Irons

Leeds United and West Ham United, positioned 16th and 19th, respectively, in the Premier League table after eight rounds of fixtures, face off in this week's Friday night fixture at Elland Road (20:00 BST, Sky Sports Main Event).

Below are my Leeds vs West Ham predictions, supported by all the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

Leeds are sweating on the availability of Ethan Ampadu and Pascal Struijk, who are both struggling with illness.

Noah Okafor (muscle) and Wilfried Gnonto (hernia) are also doubts after missing last Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Burnley.

Jaka Bijol, Ao Tanaka, Lukas Nmecha and Dan James are all eyeing promotions to Daniel Farke's starting XI.

Football Odds

Niclas Fullkrug (thigh), George Earthy (hamstring) and Konstantinos Mavropanos (unspecified) will miss West Ham's trip to West Yorkshire.

Head coach Nuno Espirito Santo could make several changes to his starting XI following Monday's shocking loss at home to Brentford (0-2).

Aaron Wan-Bissaka, El Hadji Malick Diouf and Guido Rodriguez could all earn the call-up from the bench, but Callum Wilson, who was left kicking his heels on the sidelines against the Bees, appears to be out of favour with the Irons boss.

Leeds vs West Ham Odds

Leeds won their opening home game 1-0 against Everton on August 18, but are winless in their last three at Elland Road (D2, L1). The Whites are 5/6 to return to winning ways in West Yorkshire on Friday, implying a 54.5% probability of success, while West Ham are 3/1, or a 25% chance, to respond to back-to-back defeats with a victory against Farke's side.

The draw is priced at 13/5, both teams to score at 10/11, and over 2.5 total goals at 1/1.

Betfred's Price Boosts include Leeds to Win, Leeds Most Corners & Leeds Most Booking Pts at 9/1 (was 7/1).

Total Goals - Under 1.5 @ 9/4

Having watched West Ham labour to defeat on Monday night, registering a single shot on target from seven efforts, I wonder where their next goal comes from.

The Irons have tremendous individual attackers in Jarrod Bowen and Lucas Paqueta, while Crysencio Summerville has shown flashes of his precocious ability, too, but things just aren't clicking for the east London side, even with Graham Potter having vacated his head coach post.

Nuno has seen his team score just once in three games since taking over the reins, and that was in his very first match, a 1-1 draw at Everton on September 29.

All three of West Ham's contests under Nuno have seen exactly two goals scored, and next up, the Irons face a Leeds side that also lost their last game 2-0.

Today's Football Fixtures

Half (four) of Leeds' eight Premier League matches this season have finished with under 2.5 goals, and having found the net just once across their last two outings, I'm not notally convinced on the Whites' attack, either; only Wolves, Nottingham Forest (both five) and West Ham (six) have scored fewer league goals than Farke's men.

A 0-0 or 1-0 Leeds win would be my prediction here, so I'm hedging my bets and backing under 1.5 total goals at 9/4.

Home Team Total Shots Over/Under +15.5 - Over 15.5 @ 10/11

Leeds haven't been shy to shoot in their last three games, recording 19, 16 and 19 shots, respectively, against Burnley, Tottenham Hotspur and AFC Bournemouth. The Whites also racked up 21 efforts in their opening weekend win against Everton at Elland Road.

West Ham, meanwhile, have conceded 16+ shots in three of their last four matches. Against Crystal Palace, under Potter, they let up 18 efforts, and in Nuno's first three games, against Everton, Arsenal and Brentford, they have seen their opponents shoot 12, 21 and 22 times, respectively.

Over 15.5 shots, then, looks easily achievable for a Leeds side that will be going for the win on home soil.

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