Albion are still looking for their first Premier League win over Leeds United, albeit Sunday will be only their fourth attempt. The Whites were the Baggies’ first Premier League opponents at the Hawthorns back in August 2002 and it was the Australian, Harry Kewell, who had the honour of scoring the first Premier League goal at the Shrine when he put the visitors ahead in the 39th minute. The easily-forgotten Lee Marshall scored Albion’s first Premier League goal when he scored a last minute consolation goal in what was ultimately a 3-1 defeat.
Leeds were relegated the following season and this is their first top flight season since then – by comparison, this is the Baggies’ 13th Premier League campaign. The only previous Premier League meeting at Elland Road came in January 2003 – the game finished 0-0 with the only notable event being when Albion were denied an obvious penalty for a hand ball by Lucas Radebe.
It is, perhaps, surprising that Albion have only played three games at Elland Road since then, but with the Baggies having spent much of the intervening time in the top flight and Leeds having dallied with third tier football, the two clubs only once shared a division until Albion were relegated in 2018. That was the 2006/07 when a brace from Diomansy Kamara and another goal from Jonathan Greening saw the Baggies overturn a 1-0 deficit from a goal from Tore André Flo to lead 3-1 at half time. Alan Thompson reduced the arrears for the hosts after the break but Albion held on to take the points.
That match was almost 30 years after Albion’s previous win away to Leeds. In October 1978, Ron Atkinson’s emerging title challengers travelled to West Yorkshire a week after suffering their first home defeat of the season against Spurs and ten days after losing at Leeds in a League Cup Second Round Replay. It was the fourth time that season that the clubs had met.
Bomber Brown gave Albion the lead only for Bryon Stevenson to level the game before a quarter of the match had gone. It stayed 1-1 until the last ten minutes before Cyrille Regis scored twice to secure the points for the visitors. It was the first of a remarkable 19 game unbeaten run for Albion that saw them progress to the quarter finals of the UEFA Cup and to the top of the First Division. Ironically, Albion and Leeds would meet a further three times that season after they were also drawn together in the FA Cup, a game that the Baggies won after a replay (both matches were played at the Hawthorns as a punishment for misbehaving Leeds fans!).
Albion’s biggest win at Elland Road was in 1960 when a brace from David Burnside and goals from the two Dereks, Hogg and Kevan, saw the Baggies win 4-1 but the most infamous victory was the one that “cost Leeds United the title” in April 1971. The officials were years ahead of their time when they allowed Jeff Astle (pictured) to run through and score the winner when Albion midfielder, Colin Suggett, was standing in an offside position.
Leeds biggest win over the Baggies was in February 1967 in the fourth round of the FA Cup. A brace each from Lorimer and Belfitt and another from Madeley saw the Whites romp into round five with 5-0 win.
Stat Attack
Current Form
Albion | L | D | D | L | L | L |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Leeds United | D | D | L | W | W | W |
All competitions; most recent game on the right
Last matches
Last meeting
29 Dec 2020 – Premier League
West Brom 0
Leeds United 5 (Sawyers (o.g.), Alioski, Harrison, Rodrigo, Raphinha)
Last meeting at Leeds United
1 Oct 2019 – League Championship
Leeds United 1 (Bartley (o.g.))
West Brom 0
Last win
10 Nov 2018 – League Championship
West Brom 4 (Robson-Kanu, Phillips, Barnes, Gayle)
Leeds United 1 (Hernández)
Last win at Leeds United
20 Jan 2007 – League Championship
Leeds United 2 (Flo, Thompson)
West Brom 3 (Greening, Kamara (2))
Albion’s Record against Leeds United
Overall | Away | ||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
P | W | D | L | F | A | P | W | D | L | F | A | ||
League | 79 | 29 | 16 | 34 | 108 | 123 | 39 | 9 | 10 | 20 | 40 | 68 | |
FA Cup | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | |
League Cup | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 3 | |
Total | 89 | 33 | 19 | 37 | 122 | 138 | 45 | 10 | 12 | 23 | 47 | 81 |
Premier League Record | |||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Pld | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
Home | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 0 |
Away | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
Total | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 1 |
If you can’t see the tables, click here.