Leeds United make the trip to Griffin Park tonight to face Thomas Frank’s Brentford with the gap ever-so narrow between the two sides, and their form contrasting completely.
Leeds are currently 22nd in the form table over the last 10 games while the Bees are top and have picked up 11 more points than the Whites in that time, showing just how different the fortunes of these promotion rivals are.
One of the major transfer stories in the Championship in the summer was Leeds letting Swedish international and star centre-back Pontus Jansson leave the club, but even more controversially, they let him go to fellow promotion hopefuls Brentford.
The Bees had lost Neal Maupay in the summer but strengthened very well with Ethan Pinnock and Jansson at the back, and seeing Ollie Watkins take the mantle as the main striker, to which they haven’t looked back.
Marcelo Bielsa replaced the departed Swede with relatively unknown Brighton centre-back Ben White, who arrived on a season-long loan, having impressed in January 2018 against Thomas Christiansen’s Leeds side whilst he was on-loan at Newport County.
The signing wasn’t greeted with much optimism as a proven top Championship centre-back departed Elland Road for one that has never played in the Championship, but White has proven everyone wrong, elevating himself to being regarded as one of the best in the division alongside the Brentford man.
Tonight sees the two come face-to-face for the second time this season after White’s side overcame Jansson’s earlier in the season at Elland Road.
This comparison is one of the major talking-points of the game and it’s no surprise. Here are the pick of their stats from the season so far…
Both players have been in tremendous form this season at the heart of the two best defences in the league. There are doubts over whether Jansson will be fit to make the Brentford lineup tonight, and it would be a huge blow for the hosts if he can’t make the game.
The Bees currently boast the best defence in the league with 25 conceded so far, while the Whites are not far behind them with 29 conceded, both playing 31 league games. White is yet to miss a league game this season while Jansson’s injury has meant that he has missed six in total (playing 25).
In terms of total defensive duels won, White comfortably wins this stat with a success rate of 72.2%, while Jansson is down at 63.5%. White has shown this season that he is more than comfortable at defending counter-attacks when faced with one-on-one situations, exemplified by his success rate in defensive duels, while Jansson defends as part of a more compact unit that defends together, meaning his one-on-one defending suffers in comparison.
From an aerial perspective, Jansson was known for his prowess for Leeds, first dominating alongside Kyle Bartley before taking on the mantle more individually at Elland Road. Jansson wins this battle between the two defenders with 62% success in the air, while White only manages 54.1% success. Leeds have struggled immensely this season from set-piece situations and there could be an argument for that being attributed largely to Jansson’s exit.
On the floor, White has been more successful in making sliding challenges, which might come as a huge surprise given the manner in which Jansson was remembered by Leeds fans. The gung-ho approach to defending adopted by Jansson was what captivated many at Elland Road, but so far at Griffin Park, he hasn’t managed a single successful sliding challenge.
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Per game, White manages 3.82 interceptions compared to the Swede’s 5.46, which has always been a strength of the former Leeds man. A pinch of salt has to be taken with White’s stats per game because he plays in a side that dominates possession high up the pitch, where there’s fewer opportunities to regain possession. As Jansson is viewed as a very combative defender, it’s not surprising that he averaged slightly more fouls per game with 0.85 to the on-loan man’s 0.75 at Leeds.
A key figure, if not one of the most important, is how good the pair are in possession of the ball, given that both Thomas Frank and Marcelo Bielsa are positive managers that look to control games on the ball.
It has seemed this season that White looks more assured on the ball compared to Jansson in the same system, with more confidence to drive forward with the ball, and there is more confidence from the stands that what White will do is going to be more successful than when the 6’5” Swede marauded out of the backline.
In terms of passing accuracy though, Jansson edges this with great accuracy at 91.2% while White’s is slightly lower with 89.1%.
There is no doubting that both players are integral to their sides and their form will be a huge factor in where Leeds and Brentford both finish, and the stats don’t do much to indicate who has been playing better out of the two.