Leeds United are the top goalscorer this season in the Championship with 37 goals but it is not down to them having a prolific number 9. Joel Piroe is Leeds’ top scorer with seven goals but that is just 19 percent of their total strikes and the team are more dependent on the goals getting spread around the rest of the team. Leeds are aware that the Dutchman is not a typical number 9 but they need him to do one thing more than anything else for the rest of the campaign.
Borja Sainz is the top scorer this season in the Championship with 15 goals and that is a staggering 42 percent of Norwich City’s total goals in the ongoing campaign.
Piroe has been trusted with leading the line for Leeds for most of the games this season and he is valued because of his ability to link up play with the rest of the team and not only for his goals.
However, four of his seven goals have come from the bench and he is not getting on the scoresheet enough times when he is getting to start games this season for Leeds.
But there is an ever more worrying trend about Piroe’s goals this season, which should worry the Leeds fans who are preparing for the second half of the season.
Joel Piroe is struggling like Leeds United away from home
Leeds have won just three of their ten Championship games this season and compared to other teams who got promoted in previous seasons, the Whites are massively underperforming on the road.
Their excellent home form has ensured that Leeds remain in the hunt for automatic promotion, but Leeds know that they cannot be this bad away from home for the rest of the campaign.
The chief issue for Leeds on the road has been their inability to come back into games after conceding the first goal and they are not scoring enough.
Leeds’ top scorer has also been poor away from home this season and only two of his seven goals in the Championship this season have come on the road.
The Yorkshire giants need their top scorer to step up to the plate and contribute more away from home if they are to fix their away-day woes in the latter half of the season.
The festive period is an opportunity for Piroe to redeem himself
Joel Piroe is expected to start in Leeds’ home game against Oxford United at Elland Road on Saturday but in the rest of the festive period is where the Whites would need the Dutchman to step up.
Leeds are likely to beat an Oxford side who have lost five of their last six games but three of their next four games will be on the road and that is where Piroe needs to make himself counter.
Leeds need their attackers to grab the games by the collar of their neck and score more goals away from home and Piroe is the leader of that forward line.
The Dutchman needs to add to his tally of just two goals on the road in the next three away games to ensure Leeds maximise their points ahead of the FA Cup weekend.
Piroe’s xG away from home this season is 2.14, which means he has scored as many as he has been expected to on the road in the Championship. Leeds need to ensure that more high-quality chances are created for the striker in the coming weeks.
Leeds have a problem on the road and goalscoring is a big issue. The Whites’ attackers need to replicate some of the spark they show on the pitch when they are at home.
Piroe needs to ensure that he imposes himself on opposition defences on the road and show the quality that has made him such a highly-rated striker in the Championship.
