The Baggies are heading to Elland Road to lock horns with the Whites and the legendary Marcelo Bielsa this evening.
West Bromwich Albion manager Slaven Bilic has given his opinion of Leeds United and the Elland Road atmosphere ahead of the Baggies and the Whites locking horns in the Championship on Tuesday evening (official West Brom website).
The Baggies are top of the Championship table going into the televised Elland Road fixture against Marcelo Bielsa and co, who are just two points behind in fourth place.
West Brom remain unbeaten in the league and, after three draws in their first five, they are now picking up victories, with Huddersfield Town and Queens Park Rangers dispatched in their last two games.
Leeds, meanwhile, dropped from first to fourth in the table this weekend after a narrow 1-0 defeat at Charlton as their mixed September came to an end, having drawn with Derby County prior to the trip to the Valley and, before that, a win over Barnsley.
“This is one of the biggest tests,” The Hawthorns boss told the official website. “Okay, their last couple of results for them are not what they expected, but that shows how tough this league is. To be fair, in both of those games they were superior, and that’s not taking anything away from Charlton and Derby. We all know how they play. It’s lots of pressing, lots of running, a lot of energy. They try to squeeze you.
“In terms of how big a test this is, of course it is a huge test but we are happy we have these kinds of tests and we also want to test ourselves against the best. We expect, to be fair, that it’s also going to be a very good test for them. The crowd doesn’t bring pressure, it brings joy. That’s the reason you decide to play football. It’s a privilege to play in that kind of atmosphere and we are not a small club. The majority of our players, if not all, have played in front of bigger crowds so I wouldn’t say that will add pressure.”
As reported by BBC Sport, Leeds have only lost one of their past 10 home league matches against West Brom, losing 3-2 under Dennis Wise in January 2007, although WBA’s 4-0 defeat away at Elland Road last season was their heaviest league defeat outside the top-flight since February 2000, when they lost 6-0 to Sheffield United.
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