Nuno Espirito Santo already has upper hand on Leeds United as flawless record emerges
Nuno Espirito Santo will be desperate for his first win in charge of West Ham when his side travels to Elland Road to take on Leeds United on Friday.
West Ham hired Nuno at the end of September, after Graham Potter had been relieved of his duties.
The Englishman had left the Hammers in a perilous position, having won just one of his opening five Premier League fixtures.
But there has been little improvement under Nuno so far, with West Ham’s 2-0 loss to Brentford perhaps representing their worst performance of the season.
West Ham would likely be happy with a draw against Leeds, but the former Tottenham boss will hope his side can finally break their winning duck.
Nuno Espirito Santo has a strong history against Leeds
Nuno made several changes to his team against Brentford, some of which prompted some confusion.
West Ham started with Oliver Scarles at right-back and Kyle Walker-Peters at left-back, despite each player being natural on the opposite side.
The move was presumably made in the hopes that the full-backs would be able to invert into midfield, but the Hammers instead looked wayward.
Nuno brought on El Hadji Malick Diouf and Aaron Wan-Bissaka at half-time, marking the end of an experiment that will likely not be seen again anytime soon.
The Portuguese coach is more likely to revert to similar tactics seen in the games against Everton and Arsenal when West Ham travel to Elland Road on Friday.
And Nuno already has somewhat of an upper hand over the Hammers’ opposition, with the 51-year-old holding a strong individual record against Leeds.
On the four previous occasions in which the former Wolves boss has met the Whites, he has won every single time, conceding just one goal.
Nuno has never conceded a goal at Elland Road
Two of Nuno’s matches against Leeds came in the Championship, with the other two played in the Premier League.
All were played during his time with Wolves, with the last coming at Molineux in the 2020-21 season, when Illan Meslier’s own goal was the difference between the sides.
| Nuno Espirito Santo vs Leeds | Season |
| Wolves 1-0 Leeds | 20-21 |
| Leeds 0-1 Wolves | 20-21 |
| Leeds 0-3 Wolves | 17-18 |
| Wolves 4-1 Leeds | 17-18 |
The two times Nuno has travelled to Elland Road have seen the Portuguese manager fail to concede a goal, scoring four across the games.
Now in charge of West Ham, Nuno will hope to continue his streak on Friday.
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