Tony Mowbray says Albion will be respectful of Leeds United’s talent and league position, but stressed his side aren’t travelling to Elland Road this weekend to be “submissive”.
The Baggies take on the Whites in Yorkshire on Saturday lunchtime and will attempt to become the first Sky Bet Championship team to defeat the table-toppers in the second tier since the end of November 2024.
Leeds have a five-point gap between themselves and Sheffield United in second, with Mowbray’s men heading into the encounter sat fifth in the standings, one point clear of Coventry City in seventh.
The two teams drew 0-0 at The Hawthorns in the reverse fixture back in August and the boss insists Albion are confident they can cause the title-chasers problems in their own back yard if they stick to their plan.
Tony said: “I hope it’s a really good game on Saturday.
“We have to be respectful of the talent that they’ve got, of course. We can’t just throw everything at them and attack, we have to go there with a plan, work really hard and be structured.
“Hopefully the quality that we’ll have on the pitch will give Leeds something to think about. I don’t just want us to be submissive and accept that we’re not going to have much of the ball.
“We’ll go there with ambitions of our own and we’ll try to score a goal or two.
“They’ve got resilience and they’ve got quality. We’ve studied them all week and it’s not an accident that they are where they are. The way they build from the back, the speed they've got in wide areas and the quality they’ve got through the middle is really good, and their boss Daniel Farke has put that together.
“Our job at the weekend is to go and try and give that team some problems. I think we can and we’re looking forward to that challenge.
“It’s always good to go and play at Elland Road, which I think is an old-school stadium and one full of atmosphere.
“Hopefully our fans who are travelling will have a really good day and see us come home with a really positive result.”
