GEORGE ELEK: Siege mentality can lead to goals in Yorkshire

A Sunday Roast isn’t a Sunday Roast without a Yorkshire pudding, but how about a Yorkshire amuse bouche to get the juices flowing as the potatoes crisp up in the oven?

Midday kick-off in the Championship is an all Yorkshire affair, with odds-on title favourites Leeds hosting a Sheffield Wednesday side who are currently on the brink of civil war.

Dejphon Chansiri’s ownership of Sheffield Wednesday has never been boring, with Owls fans often frustrated with his means of running the club, but he finally looked to have struck gold in the appointment of German hotshot Danny Rohl.

But when Chansiri is in town, there can always be too much of a good thing, and rumours of a strained relationship between Rohl and the owner came to a head earlier in the week when Chansiri called a press conference and proceeded to effectively shrug his shoulders when quizzed about Rohl’s complaints over communication on transfer matters.

That Chansiri then left the room to take a phone call, only to return and break the news that on-loan midfielder Shea Charles had been recalled, was the icing on the cake for this particularly tasty PR disaster-class.

The away end will be an interesting place at Elland Road on Sunday, with displeasure likely to be directed at the Chairman, but full support thrown behind Rohl and his team. It wouldn’t be a huge shock to see Wednesday rally in a siege mentality, as they did last season when managing to escape from what looked like certain relegation.

Normally, Leeds at home is a Leeds to nil autobet, but I’m a little bit wary of the wounded owls, especially as it looks like Daniel Farke is inexplicably going to retain faith in goalkeeper Illan Meslier, despite his errors being basically the only reason Leeds aren’t already clear at the top with one foot in the Premier League.

Sheffield Wednesday have also been prolific on their travels, scoring 11 in their last five away games and winning three of those. They’ve also conceded eight in this time, keeping just one clean sheet, and this maybe shouldn’t be a surprise given Rohl’s commitment to playing aggressive, front-foot football.

This can be a dangerous strategy against a Leeds side who much prefer playing against a side who will take the game to them rather than sit and soak. They’ve scored two goals on five occasions, three on five and four in one home game, so it’s hard to see anything other than a goal fest here.

Over 3.5 goals in 2/1, which would be skinny enough in most cases, appeals here in a game where Leeds should have plenty of joy going forward while Meslier should be asked more questions than usual.

Selection

1pt Over 3.5 goals @ 2/1