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Brentford vs Leeds: Will a point be enough for Jesse Marsch’s strugglers?

Leeds travel to Brentford knowing they need to better Burnley's result to avoid dropping into the Championship.

How did it come to this? Media darlings last season as pundits and neutrals alike lapped up Bielsa Ball, Leeds are just one game from plunging back down to the Championship.
Lose and they're down, fail to better Burnley's result and they're down.
Still, it could be worse. They're visiting a side with nothing to play for, who have had nothing to play for a while and have *checks notes* won seven of their last ten. Oh.

When: Sunday, May 22, 16:00 BST

Where: Brentford Community Stadium

How to watch: Sky Sports Premier League

Follow this game via our score centre

Who is the ref for Brentford vs Leeds

Paul Tierney is the man in charge for this one, with Lee Betts and Neil Davies assisting him.
John Brooks is on VAR duty.

Tierney has taken charge of 26 Premier League games this season, awarding 101 yellow cards and four reds.

He has reffed Leeds five times this season, during which time the West Yorkshire side have shipped 22 goals. He also dished out his season-high nine yellow cards when Leeds took on Manchester United in February.
He has only taken charge of one Brentford game with the Bees beating Burnley 2-0 in a game which saw Nathan Collins sent off the Clarets.

Season stats 2021/22: All matches (26), yellows (101), reds (4), penalties (9)

Recent form

Christian Eriksen Brentford
Brentford could have been excused for resting on their laurels after an encouraging debut Premier League campaign.

However, that has been far from the case, with 22 points coming from their last 11 games.

That included a come-from-behind 3-2 win at Everton last time out, underlining their determination not to give up easy points to those involved in the relegation fight.
Pascal Struijk's injury-time equaliser at home to Brighton stemmed a run of three successive defeats for Leeds.
It barely papered over the cracks, however, with the early-April optimism which followed their 3-0 win at Watford - a third win in four - having long since vanished.
Goalscoring is still proving a problem for the Elland Road side, who in the prolonged absence of striker Patrick Bamford have drawn a blank in nine of their last 18 games.

Brentford and Leeds players in form

Thomas Frank is "hopeful" Christian Eriksen will remain at Brentford past the summer and his desire to keep the Danish international is understandable considering his impact. The 30-year-old has started eight games, with the Bees winning six of them.

For his part, the former Tottenham midfielder has weighed in with a goal and four assists.

It would be hard to argue that any Leeds player is in form, but Kalvin Phillips will be pleased at least to have strung seven games together, his longest injury-free run of the campaign.

Previous meetings

Leeds 2-2 Brentford (December 5, 2021)

Patrick Bamford scored a stoppage-time winner for Leeds in a game Marcelo Bielsa claimed they "dominated".
Returning from injury, Bamford scrambled home a corner for the home side who had trailed to goals from Shandon Baptiste and Sergi Canos.
Tyler Roberts had earlier given the hosts a 27th-minute lead.
The draw left the Bees in 12th and Leeds in 14th, six points clear of the drop zone.

Brentford 1-1 Leeds (February 11, 2020)

Goalkeeping errors marred this Championship promotion encounter, with both goals stemming from mistakes.

Kiko Casilla let a routine pass back from Liam Cooper roll under his foot to allow Said Benrahma to open the scoring for the home side.
At the other end, David Raya failed to deal with a corner, allowing Cooper to stab home the equaliser.

Leeds 1-0 Brentford (August 21, 2019)

Arsenal loanee Eddie Nketiah scored on his Championship debut to give Leeds all three points in this early season encounter.

The 81st-minute goal put Leeds top of the table with four matches played.

Last 10 meetings

Brentford wins: 3

Draws: 4

Leeds wins: 3

Brentford scored: 12

Leeds scored: 9

Managers' thoughts

Brentford boss Thomas Frank says his side won't be easing up for the final game of the season: "The players train very hard, and I can't see them taking their foot off the gas and not going max power on Sunday.

"There can be that little bit of freedom but when you cross that line you go into match mode and want to win.
"I know we will focus on trying to win it, as we have done any other game. We have a chance to go top 10 so we will do that. We will come with everything."
Leeds boss Jesse Marsch is confident the outcome of Sunday will not impact his role at the club: "I'm still planning to be here even in relegation. It's a long-term project and the club committed to me in that way.
"The connections we have made mesh well together. The support from everyone has been amazing, but I'm not thinking about the long-term project, only about Sunday and preparing for that."

Predicted Brentford vs Leeds teams

Leeds boss Jesse Marsch is hoping striker Patrick Bamford can make his first appearance since mid-March after recovering from a foot injury. However, he may have to settle for a place on the bench.

Luke Ayling and Daniel James are both suspended.

Possible Leeds starting line-up: Meslier; Koch, Llorente, Cooper, Firpo; Klich, Phillips; Raphinha, Rodrigo, Harrison; Gelhardt

For Brentford, Ethan Pinnock and Bryan Mbeumo face assessments on Saturday, whlle Frank Onyeka is available after recovering from an ankle injury.

Possible Brentford starting line-up: Raya; Ajer, Jansson, Sorensen, Henry; Jensen, Norgaard, Eriksen; Mbeumo, Toney, Wissa

Brentford vs Leeds prediction

Leeds know they need to get something out of this game and will be buoyed by previous encounters with the Bees, which are usually tight.
The return of Patrick Bamford will at least give them an attacking focal point, whether that be from the start or as a late replacement.
Three of these sides' last ten meetings have ended 1-1 and that looks a good shout for Sunday. And then all eyes will be on Turf Moor.

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