Leeds United host West Brom in the Championship on Saturday, marking a third-straight game against top six opposition for the Whites.
There’s really no respite for Daniel Farke and his Leeds United side, who in their last two outings have played and beaten two promotion rivals in Sunderland and Sheffield United respectively.
Last time out, the Whites came from behind to win 3-1 win at Sheffield United in a win that leaves Leeds five points clear at the top of the Championship table, and 24 points ahead of Tony Mowbray’s West Brom in 5th place.
The Baggies head to Elland Road on Saturday afternoon for a 12:30pm kick off. A win for Leeds would extend their unbeaten run in the Championship to an incredible 17 games, whilst West Brom have won just one of their last three.
Since landing the job at The Hawthorns in January, Mowbray has won three of his seven games in charge, losing three and drawing one, with the Baggies beating Oxford United 2-0 in their last outing.
Farai Hallam set to referee Leeds United vs West Brom
In the build up to Saturday, the English Football League has announced its referee appointments for the next round of fixtures. For Leeds against West Brom, Farai Hallam will be the man in the middle – he’s also been the man in the middle of some refereeing controversy of late as well.
In Sunderland’s last game against Hull City, Hallam was criticised for missing what was a clear handball by a Hull City player, inside the Hull penalty area. At the time of the incident, Sunderland were trailing 1-0, eventually going on to lose the game 1-0.
Not only that, but former Leeds United manager Steve Evans has been critical of Hallam this season. The Rotherham United manager has questioned Hallam’s ability to officiate games in tense, cagey atmospheres in stadiums, saying earlier in February: “Before the game, before I’d even seen the officials, I requested an experienced, strong referee who can handle this when they are going for promotion.”
Farai Hallam’s record when refereeing Leeds United
Hallam is a new referee on the scene and he’s actually never officiated a Leeds United game, so the Elland Road atmosphere will be a new experience for him, and if Leeds go behind in the game then the atmosphere could quickly become sour.
In six Championship games this season, Hallam has shown one red card and 22 yellow cards (3.67 yellow cards-per-game).
Of those six games, the home team has won three times and the away team twice, with only one penalty awarded in all six of those games.
What to expect of Hallam on Saturday remains to be seen. But he’s certainly caused a few managerial upsets this season and Farke will just be hoping that he has no complaints on Saturday, and that his team’s quality does all the talking.
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