WHZ View: Lingard v Ayling the key battle in West Ham clash v Leeds
West Ham will host Leeds in the Premier League for the first time in 19 years when they two sides clash at the London Stadium on Monday.
The two sides haven’t played in London in the top flight since November 2002. In what was a thrilling contest, Leeds came away from Upton Park with a vital 4-3 win on the day.
This will be the Whites’ first time visiting the London Stadium. They’ll be aiming to stop a West Ham side pushing for the European places. Both teams are playing exciting football this season, it promises to be a lively encounter.
Toe-to-toe
Leeds operate with a man-to-man system that effectively sees them play 1v1’s all over the pitch. It worked so well for them in the Championship but has seen mixed results in the top-flight.
Bielsa’s men are 11th. They’ve won 11 matches, drawn twice and lost 13. In fairness to them, they’re 12 points above the relegation zone and look to be safe already. We won the clash in December, and have a new attacking threat to unleash this time.
Jesse Lingard has added another dimension to the way we play our attacking football. The former England international joined on loan from Manchester United in January. His start to life in the east end has been nothing short of remarkable.
After five matches, the number 11 has scored three goals, got one assist and won one penalty, as we’ve lost once in our last five matches. His goal involvements have won us two games, without which we’d be seventh.
Lingard will no doubt be in for a tough evening on Monday. If everyone is fit, it appears he will come up against Luke Ayling, who himself is having an excellent first season in the Premier League.
The full-back has won the second most defensive duels in the top-flight with 249, 9.04 per 90 [WyScout]. Lingard is someone who sees a lot of the ball. In his five matches, he’s attempted 35 dribbles, and had 17 attempts on goal. Ayling has blocked the second-most shots in the division with 24. He won’t be afraid to throw himself in front of a Lingard effort.
Ayling has also made the seventh-most interceptions with 152. He’ll need to be switched on if he’s marking Lingard, most of our attacking play now goes through him. It may be an opportunity to get those interceptions up a bit.
Once Ayling is in possession, he rarely wastes it. He’s been successful with 72.22% of his dribble attempts this season. It ranks him the third-best in the whole league, a remarkable stat when you consider some of the talent in the Premier League.
If anything, it’s gone under the radar how well Ayling has been performing. Lingard will be up for the challenge, though. The Englishman has his sights set on a return to the national fold before the Euros and is playing like a man possessed.
His goal against Spurs reminded everyone of his quality, backing it up with an assist away to Manchester City. He provided the goal for Antonio, who in turn became the first visiting player to score from open play at the Etihad since September.
We’ll need Lingard to be his usual lively self against Leeds, no doubt.
In other West Ham news, Stuart Pearce has backed Lingard to make the England squad.