Leeds United v West Ham United
Premier League, Elland Road, Wednesday 4 January 2023, 7.45pm GMT
Happy New Year!
West Ham United kick-off 2023 with a trip to Yorkshire to take on Leeds United on Wednesday evening.
The Hammers will hope to start the new calendar year in far better form than they ended the last, having closed out 2022 with five straight Premier League defeats.
The Irons will be able to draw on positive memories from their two most-recent visits to Elland Road, where David Moyes' side scored 2-1 top-flight victories in December 2020 and September 2021.
Leeds, meanwhile, are without a win in three Premier League matches, but did score a creditable goalless draw at Newcastle United on New Year's Eve.
Tickets
The first 90% of tickets sold out to Bondholders and Season Ticket Holders with 22+ Loyalty Points. The remaining 10% (285 tickets) were then made available to Season Ticket Holders who had yet to purchase for this fixture by a ballot process.
Travel
If you are driving, parking is restricted in the roads around Elland Road, so you are strongly advised to park in one of the Leeds City Council controlled car parks situated nearby. Charges are set at £6 for cars, £12 for mini coaches and £20 for coaches. For more information, call Leeds City Council on 0113 395 7400 or email [email protected].
Alternatively, there are two Park and Ride services from either Stourton or Temple Green to Elland Road, which will run from 4.45pm until kick-off and again after the game.
Stourton is situated at Junction 7 on the M621 at postcode LS10 1FF, while Temple Green is situated in the Aire Valley next to the A63, with access via Junction 45 of the M1 at postcode LS9 0PS. Visit https://tickets.leedsunited.com/en-gb/categories/park-and-ride to buy Park and Ride tickets.
If you are taking the train up from London, you will need to stay overnight.
Services leave London Kings Cross regularly and take around two hours and 40 minutes to reach Leeds. From Leeds station, you can take a taxi to Elland Road or walk the two miles to the stadium, which should take around 35 minutes.
On the Thursday morning, with strikes seeing a reduction in the number of trains running, direct services depart Leeds at 08.00 and 09.45.
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How to Follow...
Wednesday's game will NOT be broadcast live in the UK. However, it will be shown across the world by the Premier League's international broadcast partners.
You can listen to commentary in the UK on BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio London 94.9FM and on whufc.com and our official app.
You can also follow the action via our live blog on whufc.com and our app and across our social media channels. We will also have highlights and exclusive reaction for you after the final whistle.
Team News...
David Moyes has been without winger Maxwel Cornet since the Ivory Coast international was injured in the home Premier League win over Wolverhampton Wanderers on 1 October.
France centre-back Kurt Zouma had knee surgery during the FIFA World Cup break.
For Leeds United, Northern Ireland international Stuart Dallas is out with a thigh problem.
However, centre-forward Patrick Bamford had groin surgery during the World Cup, and his availability is uncertain. Colombia winger Luis Sinisterra is hopeful of returning after dealing with an ankle injury.
Jesse Marsch signed his former RB Salzburg defender Maximilian Wöber, an Austria international, on Tuesday, but he is unlikely to feature against the Hammers.
Opposition...
Leeds United replaced popular manager Marcelo Bielsa with American Jesse Marsch in February 2022 and the former RB Salzburg and RB Leipzig head coach guided the Peacocks to safety - but only just!
Leeds finished 17th, with 38 points and a -37 goal difference, just three points above relegated Burnley.
Then, in the summer, Marsch lost his leading scorer Raphinha to Barcelona and talismanic midfielder Kalvin Phillips to Manchester City.
The former United States international midfielder brought in a host of familiar faces in compatriots Brenden Aaronson and Tyler Adams and Danish right-back Rasmus Kristensen, all of whom he had worked with previously, as well as Spain U21 midfielder Marc Roca and Italy forward Wilfried Gnonto.
All have played regularly for Marsch as he seeks to steady Leeds' Premier League ship, but the Elland Road faithful will hope their head coach can steer them further away from the bottom three as 2023 progresses.
Previous Meetings
The Hammers are seeking a fourth win in the last five Premier League meetings with Leeds United when they meet on Wednesday.
The pair met twice in the Championship in 2004/05, drawing 1-1 at the Boleyn Ground and Leeds winning 2-1 at Elland Road, and twice more at the same level in 2011/12, drawing 2-2 in east London and 1-1 in Yorkshire.
In 2020/21, West Ham took maximum points over Marcelo Bielsa’s men, winning 2-1 at Elland Road and 2-0 at home, and followed that with a 2-1 victory in Yorkshire in September 2021.
Leeds were also beaten 2-0 at London Stadium in the FA Cup third round on 9 January 2022 to make it four West Ham wins in a row, but the Peacocks bounced back to score a 3-2 Premier League win in east London just a week later.
Leeds hold the overall edge in Premier League matches between the two sides, winning 15 of the 24 meetings in the competition, with four draws and five West Ham victories.
Match Officials
Referee: David Coote
Assistant Referees: Nick Hopton and Timothy Wood
Fourth Official: Peter Bankes
VAR: Paul Tierney
Assistant VAR: Dan Robathan
David Coote is Wednesday's match referee.
Affiliated to the Nottinghamshire FA, Coote began refereeing at the age of 16 and worked his way up through the Notts Alliance League, Northern Counties East Football League, the Northern Premier League and the Conference North.
He was promoted to the Football League List of assistant referees in 2006, and again to the referees’ list in 2010. Coote refereed the 2014 League One Play-Off final at Wembley, which saw Rotherham United defeat Leyton Orient.
The official, whose father played cricket for Nottinghamshire, was appointed to the Select Group of Premier League officials in the summer of 2018.
