Huddersfield v Leeds tips: 3 best bets for the weekend’s Yorkshire derby

The visitors will be hard to stop.

Rochdale v Huddersfield Town Paddy Power

Leeds to Win to Nil (7/5)

You’re about to witness an away team stroll into a derby of sorts, dominate proceedings and stroll out victorious without breaking a sweat.

They’re actually on pace to score over two goals a game, which is an outrageous xG return. But perhaps more impressively, they’re averaging 61% possession this year and that number actually increases when we speak about the last five games in isolation.

But the key fact in all of this is that their performance level actually increases away from home. They average 16 shots at home per game this year, but that increases to 16.8 on the road. They’ve picked up exactly half of their points away from home this year, which is quite uncommon, and they’ve conceded just four times on their travels.

If you’re thinking of opposing Leeds United based on being solely satirical, then at least keep your jokey positions until March when they might actually pay dividends. Right now, Leeds are a finely-oiled machine that simply won’t be stopped.

Patrick Bamford to Score Anytime (7/5)

Think about how Leeds play away from home. How many times do you see them win possession in an advanced area and break as a front three? As centre halves go out to challenge incoming wingers because their overly-ambitious full backs have bombed on to try and keep them in the game, Patrick Bamford, who admittedly is like marmite, is often left unmarked in the middle of the box.

When I say he’s like marmite, I don’t mean some people like him and some people hate him. Far more question his credentials as a top-end striker than actually rate him as such. The comparison is merely a nod to the fact that a ball is more likely to stick to butter than it is to a Patrick Bamford first touch.

Leeds First Half Goals – Over 1.5 (4/1)

I like this one a lot, especially as Leeds are one club who are notably buoyed on by travelling support en masse. Not that too many people you know like a winter trip to the scenic surrounds of Huddersfield, but several thousand enthusiastic Leeds fans keeping warm by bouncing around a stand in the early afternoon would get you firing from the off.

That, and the fact that Marcelo Bielsa is relentless in his approach to scoring first to set games up according to his masterplan. And boy is it ever a masterplan.

Picks Summary

Huddersfield 5/1, Draw 11/4, Leeds 8/15