The first round of the English League Cup is in full swing, with two of the Champions League's best teams facing each other, and Leeds United hosting Middlesbrough. Recently, Leeds United played a lot of offensive soccer and drew 3-3 with Portsmouth in the first round of the Champions League. Looking back at the past four meetings with Middlesbrough, the total number of goals scored in three of them reached four or more, and the average number of goals scored was as high as 2.5 goals.
Looking back at last season, Leeds United finished in third place, but lost to Waves in the play-off final and missed out on promotion. This season, the team has made a comeback with good preparations and the players are in high spirits. Even in warm-up matches, they beat La Liga giants Valencia 2-1 and played Portsmouth at home in the Championship. They broke the deadlock by breaching the Wave defense 10 minutes into the game, but exposed embarrassing defensive problems as a result.
Nonetheless, Leeds United's defense was not solid as Portsmouth scored three goals to narrowly win by one point. However, in the upcoming EFL match, Leeds United, with their home advantage, will take the initiative to pressure Middlesbrough for goal scoring opportunities. Middlesbrough, on the other hand, are in good form, as they beat Swansea in the league and are confident with 5 wins and 1 draw in warm-up matches.
It's worth noting that the two sides have met frequently in recent years, with Leeds United winning 3-2 at home to Miburgh in the league last season, and 4-3 in the second cycle. This time, the two sides meet again and a goal shootout is highly likely, with a 2.5 goal handicap certainly offering good value.
