Here are the latest Leeds United morning headlines on Saturday, February 12.
Merson expects Leeds to claim all three points
In the majority of pundit predictions for the match, Leeds are being considered as the outsiders with most picking out the Toffees as most likely winners.
Although, Paul Merson has gone against the grain and, after praising the way in which today’s visitors play, he opted to vote in favour of an away win.
“Everton were fortunate that Norwich drew their game this week,” he said in his weekly sportskeeda colum n. “If they’d held on to win it, Everton would be in major trouble now. This is a nightmare of a game for Frank Lampard.
“Leeds are a lovely team to watch, and you could see that against Aston Villa. They just never give up. This is a dangerous game for Everton. They were well beaten the other day. I didn’t like what Frank Lampard said after the game either – he said there’d be plenty more of these. That’s what he’s been brought in to stop.
“Everton were poor the other night. Leeds will put pressure on Everton at Goodison Park, and they’re going to play like they always play. A 0-0 with Leeds is very rare, and this will be an open football match. Both teams are defensively all over the place, but I’m going to back Leeds to win this game.”
Team news for Leeds’ trip to Goodison Park
It is a huge match for Leeds and Everton on Merseyside later on as both teams are desperate to stretch away from the Premier League relegation zone.
Frank Lampard and Marcelo Bielsa will both be without key players for the clash at Goodison Park with the latter still without Kalvin Phillips, Patrick Bamford, Liam Cooper and Junior Firpo.
Meanwhile, his counterpart will not have the services of Ben Godfrey, Yerry Mina, Demarai Gray, Fabian Delph and Abdoulaye Doucoure for the Whites’ visit.
Both teams still possess plenty of quality in the absence of those players and it has all the hallmarks of another thoroughly entertaining game as Lampard takes charge of his first Premier League game as Everton boss.
NFL pundit explains love for Leeds
Leeds’ link to the NFL can often be explained as a result of the club’s growing financial partnership with the San Francisco 49ers.
But that isn’t always the case as one of Sky Sports’ NFL pundits, Jeff Reinebold, has been supporting the Whites since 1995 and he explained his reason for that on talkSPORT.
.He told Jim White: “I’m a Leeds guy, right. There’s no way Leeds can play anywhere else than Elland Road. It just can’t happen.
“I came over in 1995 and turn over the TV, as you do when you’re travelling, and tired. There’s this team with these beautiful white uniforms and I don’t know anything about the game (soccer).
“And I’m watching the game and there’s this team with this great uniform and then all of a sudden a guy goes over and knocks another guy down.
“The guy is on the ground and the announcer goes ‘oh, dirty Leeds’. And I said that’s my team.”
