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Jordan Henderson’s first goal for Brentford was cancelled out by a towering header from Dominic Calvert-Lewin 48 min Kelleher punches a corner as far as Tanaka on the edge of the area. He belts the bouncing ball well wide 47 min “Rob, please, Fernandinho never got a yellow card (as is my recollection), ” writes Niall Mullen. “Just him and Gary Lineker. ” 46 min An early VAR check for a potential Leeds penalty. Collins put hands on Calvert-Lewis in the area but Stockley Park’s finest decide there wasn’t enough contact to overturn the referee’s call of no penalty. 46 min They’re off again; no changes on either side. Half-time reading A good first half for Leeds, whose newfangled back three kept Brentford at arm’s length with surprising ease. The second half will be more eventful, pinky swear. 45 min Three added minutes. Calvert-Lewin pulls out to the left to receive a pass from Ampadu and cross towards the far post. Tanaka heads back across goal and Okafor, six yards out, hooks an over-the-shoulder volley into orbit. Not a sitter but probably the best chance so far. 42 min Brentford’s shot on target comes from Lewis-Potter, a decent effort from the left side of the area after a neat pass by Henderson. It was well struck but too close to Lucas Perri, who pushed it with both hands. 41 min “Re: your entry at 6 min, ” begins Matt Dony, “it feels like you could have a bank of MBM entries ready to copy and paste. ‘A booking for City in the middle of the park. ’ ‘A sloppy goal conceded by Liverpool. ’ ‘And Spurs go behind. ’ ‘An update from Scotland from Mc Mahon. ’ “That kind of thing. Saves a bit of time before AI takes over, anyway. ” I love that you’re still not over Fernandinho. 39 min Bogle’s cross is bobbled wide by Okafor, who got across Collins but was unable to make clean contact. After a couple of showings of Das Boot, the verdict is that Ouattara was fractionally offside. And I mean fractionally. 36 min: VAR check A cross was swung to the far post, where Ouattara got the wrong side of Gudmundsson, felt a touch and went over fairly easily. But Gudmundsson did put hands on him so it could go either way. There’s also a check for offside. Gudmundsson is judged to have pulled Ouattara to the floor and Brentford have a penalty. 32 min Okafor teases Collins on the left of the area, sends Janelt to a different postcode with a simple dummy and slides a low cross that is kicked away by the outstretched left leg of Kelleher. That was an important bit of goalkeeping because Bogle would have had an open goal at the far post. Leeds have responded well to that spell of Brentford pressure. A chance out of nothing. A loose pass from Janelt, back towards Collins, is intercepted by the speedy Okafor. He charges into the area and whacks a shot from the angle that is beaten away to his left by Kelleher. 25 min A swirling cross-shot from Ouattara is held comfortably by Lucas Perri. Brentford have a fine home record but some of their best results were achieved by playing almost as the away side; today they are struggling to get through Leeds’ low block. 21 min Brentford are starting to control the game in the middle third; they’ve had 82 per cent possession in the last 10 minutes. But Lucas Perri has still had the square root of naff all to do. 18 min The ball has gone flat so there’s a break in play while they sort a replacement. Just play with a Mitre Mouldmaster, it’ll be fine. 14 min A precise, sweeping counter-attack from Brentford comes to a tame end when Kayode crosses too close to Lucas Perri. 13 min It’s all fairly cagey. Leeds, who look very comfortable for a side who only recently switched to a back three, are having plenty of possession in the middle third. 9 min Almost a chance for Leeds, who have settled nicely on the ball. Bogle slides a pass down the side to Calvert-Lewin, who slips Van den Berg cleverly and guides a low ball into the six-yard box. Okafor is slightly on his heels and Brentford are able to clear. 6 min A quiet start, nothing to report. Feel like I type that a lot in MBMs these days. 2 min A frighteningly long throw from Kayode is backheaded onto the roof of the net by Collins. No sort of chance. 2 min I wasn’t sure whether Brentford would switch to a 4-3-3, but it’s the usual 4-2-3-1 with Mathias Jensen playing as the No10. Leeds are playing 3-5-2 as expected. 1 min Peep peep! The players are about to take the field. Nottingham Forest’s win means that Leeds have dropped to 17th before kick-off, but a win today would move then five points clear of the relegation places. Today’s Premier League results Crystal Palace 0-3 Manchester City Nottm Forest 3-0 Tottenham Sunderland 1-0 Newcastle West Ham 2-3 Aston Villa Four changes for Brentford from the defeat at Spurs last weekend. Aaron Hickey, Vitaly Janelt, Keane Lewis-Potter and Mathias Jenson replace Kristoffer Ajer, Yehor Yarmolyuk, Mikkel Damsgaard and the suspended Kevin Schade. Ao Tanaka, who came off the bench to score a late equaliser against Liverpool, replaces Ilia Gruev in the Leeds midfield. Brentford (possible 4-3-3) Kelleher; Kayode, Collins, van den Berg, Hickey; Janelt, Henderson, Jensen; Ouattara, Thiago, Lewis-Potter. Subs: Donovan, Peart-Harris, Damsgaard, Ajer, Yarmolyuk, Onyeka,
Pinnock, Henry, Valdimarsson. Leeds (3-5-2) Lucas Perri; Rodon, Bijol, Struijk; Bogle, Tanaka, Ampadu, Stach, Gudmundsson; Calvert-Lewin, Okafor. Subs: Gruev, Gnonto, Byram, Justin, Bornauw, Harrison, Aaronson, Piroe, Darlow. Referee John Brooks. Hello and welcome to live coverage of Brentford v Leeds at the Gtech Stadium. Leeds have happy memories of this ground, having avoided relegation here on the final day of the 2021-22 season. They’re in another relegation battle as things stand, though the situation looks healthier after a fine week in which they took four points from games at home to Chelsea and Leeds. Brentford have adjusted pretty well to life after Thomas Frank, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoane Wissa. Crucially, their home form has been superb: five wins from seven, with only a single defeat to Manchester City. Leeds, whose away record is almost a mirror image*, have their work cut out. Kick off 4. 30pm. * P7 W1 D0 L6. And the win was at Wolves.


