Elland Road

Friday 18th August 2023 - 20:00
Leeds
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West Brom
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Carlos Corberán stares at the camera

Carlos Corberán says Albion must use the atmosphere created by the home fans at Elland Road as a motivation of their own and not be intimidated by it on Friday night (ko 8pm).

The Baggies travel north to face the Whites at one of English football’s most famous venues this weekend.

Leeds fans are well-known for generating plenty of noise at their home ground, making it a challenging place to go and get a positive result for visiting teams.

But Corberán, who spent three years there as an U23 and first-team coach between 2017 and 2020, wants his players to use the energy inside the stadium to their own advantage.

Carlos said: “When you play at Elland Road, the home crowd can either intimidate you or motivate you.

“We need to be motivated to play in a big scenario on Friday night and in a big game.

“I spent three years there. One year with the U23 team and then two years with the first team, so I know what the atmosphere can be like.

“We managed to get our first win of the season last weekend and we are determined to produce another good performance at Elland Road, which we know can be a difficult place to go.

“They are in a transition period at the moment because I’m sure they will have arrivals and departures before the end of the transfer window, but the fact they lost the last game at Birmingham City will only make them more determined to beat us.

“They still have a lot of good players who have recently been playing in the Premier League. They have a very competitive squad and they will be one of the most competitive teams in this division this season without any doubt.

“Daniel Farke is new to the job at Leeds, but he’s not new to the job in the Championship.

“What he has achieved in the Championship is unbelievable. He has achieved two promotions with Norwich City, while playing some of the best football in the division. He is someone who is able to achieve positive results and help teams get promoted.”

Brandon Thomas Asante celebrates his goal against Leeds

Albion earned a 1-1 draw at Leeds United in the Sky Bet Championship on Friday night.

Brandon Thomas-Asante’s second-half goal was cancelled out by Luke Ayling’s header, ensuring the sides took a point each from the clash.

The Baggies return to action next Saturday, hosting Middlesbrough at The Hawthorns.

An image of Jayson Molumby's deflected shot at Leeds

Carlos Corberán stuck with the 3-4-3 formation but made one change ahead of the game, swapping Thomas-Asante in for Conor Townsend and shifting Matt Phillips to the left.

Albion were up against it for large parts of the first period - Leeds going closest when Joe Gelhardt’s deflected effort struck the post on 26 minutes.

They did create a decent opening as half-time closed in, Darnell Furlong diverting Phillips’ dangerous low cross wide at the back post, but after a mainly resilient showing it remained goalless at the break.

The Baggies came out full of intent following the interval – quickly striking the post as Jed Wallace’s poke was brilliantly prevented from going in by Illan Meslier.

They did soon find the breakthrough, though, thanks to Jayson Molumby’s volley inside the area being inadvertently diverted home off Thomas-Asante, sending the 2,000 travelling supporters wild.

But Corberán’s men could only hold out until the 72nd minute before Leeds found an equaliser, Ayling converting Dan James’ cross for 1-1.

And that’s the way it stayed at Elland Road, with Albion taking a draw back to the Black Country for four points from their opening three league games.

Albion: Palmer; Ajayi, Kipre, Pieters (Townsend 75); Furlong, Yokuslu (Chalobah 86), Molumby, Phillips; Wallace (Gardner-Hickman 86), Thomas-Asante (Maja 75), Swift (Sarmiento 69).

Substitutes: Griffiths, Bartley, Mowatt, Fellows.