Leeds United vs Everton

Leeds United’s 2021/22 home Premier League campaign gets underway this weekend as they welcome Rafael Benitez’s Everton side to Elland Road.

Winless in their last three top-flight H2Hs as hosts (D1, L2), Leeds United look unlikely to erase the traumatic memory of a 5-1 hammering to Manchester United on Matchday 1. But there is a good omen existing here, with the ‘Whites’ going unbeaten in 15 of their last 16 opening day matches on home soil in England’s top tier (W10, D5). Additionally, the Yorkshire giants have not started a new top-flight season with back-to-back defeats since 1980-81 and are on a run of two consecutive home Premier League victories. Since going down 1-0 to Aston Villa in late February, Marcelo Bielsa’s men have clocked up a six-match unbeaten home league streak (W3, D3), conceding one goal or less on each occasion. Moreover, Leeds have never lost two straight home league games against Everton across their previous 53 such encounters at Elland Road.

Meanwhile, Everton picked themselves up from a 1-0 half-time deficit to outscore Southampton 3-1 at Goodison Park on Matchday 1, meaning they’ve alternated between winning (2) and losing (2) across their last four Premier League outings, the 2020/21 season included. The ‘Toffees’ have kept six clean sheets in their previous eight Premier League fixtures on the road, highlighting their stubborn defensive approach. But a lack of firepower upfront has seen them fail to trouble the scoreboard in four of their last six away games in the competition. Therefore, registering a shutout could be crucial to Everton’s hopes of winning here, especially considering each of their last four road Premier League triumphs has yielded a clean sheet, with three of them featuring the identical 1-0 scoreline.