Leeds vs Sheffield Wed prediction: ENGLAND: Championship betting tips on match 2023-09-01 14:00.
Separated by two divisions last season, Yorkshire rivals Leeds and Sheffield Wednesday renew hostilities for the first time since January 2020 in the Championship this weekend. An already uninspiring start to the season for Leeds got even worse in midweek as they were dumped out of the Carabao Cup by League Two Salford on penalties, a result that left boss Daniel Farke “disappointed”.
The German will be especially annoyed his side failed to build momentum after finally winning their first Championship game of the campaign against Ipswich in a seven-goal thriller at Portman Road (4-3). Elland Road will be a welcome sight then as Leeds are unbeaten there this term in competitive action (W1, D2), and they’ll now be looking to win back-to-back league games for the first time since November 2022 – a quest that would be helped by ending a six-month wait for a clean sheet.
No side in the EFL has endured a worst start to the season than Sheffield Wednesday who are without a point after their first four league games, while like Leeds, they too were dumped out of the League Cup in midweek by fourth-tier opposition (Mansfield). Doom and gloom surrounds Hillsborough at this early stage of the season, with supporters taking aim at the ownership, while new boss Xisco Muñoz is already under serious pressure.
The Spaniard is keen to shoulder responsibility for their miserable start, but ahead of such a hotly-contested derby, he took the rather unusual step of admitting that Leeds “are a better team” than Wednesday. Muñoz will hope that comment lights a fire under his players ahead of their visit to one of English football’s iconic venues – one the Owls boast a solid H2H record at over the last seven encounters (W2, D3, L2).
Players to watch: Previously wantaway Leeds star Wilfried Gnonto was removed from the naughty step and found his way onto the scoresheet against Ipswich – all of his five Leeds goals have come before half-time, two of which arrived inside 60 seconds of kick-off! Wednesday always turn to captain Barry Bannan for inspiration, and his strong career H2H record against Leeds should stand him in good stead here (W4, D2, L3).
Hot stat: Leeds have conceded first in each of their six competitive games this season.