Leeds United will welcome Tottenham Hotspur to Elland Road on Saturday. The home side have looked more competitive and resilient than most promoted teams of recent years, and it won’t be a surprise if they get a result against Thomas Franks’s side at home.
The Yorkshire giants have defied expectations at the start of the season, with eight points from their opening six league games. They have looked far from a team that may struggle to survive in the Premier League towards the end of the campaign.
Leeds have brought in a level of physicality and tenacity to their performances, which has even shocked established Premier League managers and their teams at the start of the season.
A weary Tottenham side, who had a bruising 2-2 draw against Bodo Glimt on Tuesday night, are their next opponents, and one particular Leeds star has an extra motivation to ensure the Whites do not lose on Saturday.
This is why I don’t want to lose to Tottenham – Leeds star Gabriel Gudmundsson
Gudmundsson has been one of the signings of the summer for Leeds. He has wasted little time in proving that he is a better option than Junior Firpo at left-back in the Premier League.
His physical intensity, tenaciousness and defensive instincts have made Leeds more resilient at the back, and he looks like one of the bargains of the summer for £10m.
Gudmundsson is looking forward to the Tottenham clash and insisted that he has extra motivation to ensure Leeds do not lose on Saturday.
He does not want to imagine facing his Swedish teammates, Lucas Bergvall and Dejan Kulusevski, in the national team camp next week after losing to them on Saturday.
“Obviously a big game, also when we play at home at Elland Road, but I think for me because after we have an international team and I have two [national team-mates] at Tottenham”, he told the Yorkshire Evening Post.
“I don’t want to end up in the national team [having] lost against them.
“Hopefully, we have a good result.”
Tottenham are ripe for picking on Saturday
The early kick-off at Elland Road will favour Leeds as they will be facing a Tottenham side that had a difficult Champions League game in midweek.
Bodo managed to hold Tottenham to a 2-2 draw, and Thomas Frank indicated that his side did struggle against a more physical and aggressive team on Tuesday night.
If the Norwegians were hard to handle for Tottenham, Leeds would be a far bigger challenge because of their physicality and the pressure they put teams under at Elland Road.
A fully rested Leeds side against a weary Tottenham side could favour the home side massively, especially in an early kick-off on Saturday.
Leeds will back themselves to extend their unbeaten run at home this weekend.
Can you name these 10 former Leeds United goalkeepers?
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