🏏 Sun, 30 Aug 2026 14:00 BST
Leeds United
vs
Brentford FC
3-4-2-1 vs 4-2-3-1
Substitutes
Substitutes
Match Preview
- Two matchday-one winners meet with a chance to make it two from two. Leeds won 1-0 away at Nottingham Forest to sit 10th, while Brentford swept aside Tottenham 3-0 at home for a +3 goal difference and seventh place. Both are on three points, and with Manchester City already on six from two games, neither side can afford to stall this early.
- Jaidon Anthony faces a club he knows well. The 26-year-old left winger, who spent a loan spell at Leeds, starts wide on the left for Brentford. Right-footed but happiest cutting infield, he scored 10 goals during his Bournemouth years and is valued as much for his defensive work rate as for his crossing from the flank.
- Japan international Ao Tanaka begins on the bench. The 27-year-old central midfielder was voted Leeds' player of the year for 2024-25, and his profile — around 90 touches a game with a pass completion rate above 90% — explains why: he sets the tempo by constantly making himself available. A Kawasaki Frontale product who reached Europe via Fortuna Dusseldorf, he is an obvious option if Leeds struggle for control.
- Leeds line up in a 3-4-2-1 with two natural right-backs in the four-man band. James Justin, 28 and genuinely two-footed after 169 appearances for Leicester, takes one flank, with Jayden Bogle — six goals and four assists in his career-best 2024-25 campaign — on the other. Inside them sit 194cm Germany holding midfielder Anton Stach and Wales international Ethan Ampadu, who captained the club to the Championship title.
- The aerial duel up front should be compelling. Leeds lead the line with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, the 189cm, 29-year-old England forward who spent nine years as Everton's main striker and still excels at hold-up play and runs in behind. Brentford answer with 198cm Norway centre-back Kristoffer Ajer and 193cm Republic of Ireland defender Nathan Collins, appointed club captain from the 2025-26 season.
- Brentford's own target man carries plenty of threat. Igor Thiago, 191cm and 25 years old, was named UECL Young Player of the Season at Club Brugge and collected a Premier League Player of the Month award during 2025-26. He faces a tall back three: 192cm left-footed Tarik Muharemovic, signed from Sassuolo, former Udinese captain Jaka Bijol, and 193cm Wales international Joe Rodon.
- The contest in front of the defences may set the tempo. Brentford pair Vitaly Janelt — a left-footed midfielder bought from Bochum for just £500,000 who has since passed 100 Premier League appearances — with Mamadou Sangare, a Mali anchor schooled in the Salzburg system who featured at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. How the 24-year-old handles the physicality of Stach and Ampadu is the central duel.
- Leeds' two attacking midfielders offer different threats. Noah Okafor, the Switzerland winger signed from AC Milan, is an explosive dribbler who won a Scudetto during a loan spell at Napoli, while Brenden Aaronson brings relentless pressing and hit a career-best nine goals in 2024-25. Their creative counterpart is Mikkel Damsgaard, the Denmark playmaker who starred at EURO 2020 and has ranked among the league's leading assist providers.
- The goalkeepers arrive from contrasting paths. Leeds trust 23-year-old James Trafford, a 192cm Manchester City academy product who built his reputation with a spell at Burnley. Brentford have 27-year-old Caoimhin Kelleher, a Premier League and Champions League winner with Liverpool at 188cm, noted for his reflexes and composure from the penalty spot.
- Both benches can change the picture late on. Leeds hold back left-footed specialist Harry Wilson, who managed nine goals and six assists in 2025-26, 2024-25 player of the year Daniel James, and Germany forward Lukas Nmecha. Brentford counter with Dango Ouattara, a club-record signing from Bournemouth, and 34-year-old veteran striker Callum Wilson.