Leeds United recorded a well-deserved 3-1 victory over Nottingham Forest on Friday, with goals from Jayden Bogel (£4.4 million), Noah Okafor (£5.5 million) and Dominic Calvert-Lewin (£5.9 million).
Here are our Scout Notes from Elland Road.
CALVERT-LEWIN “HUNGER FOR MORE”
Calvert-Lewin scored his tenth Premier League goal of the season at Elland Road on Friday.
Of those goals, nine have been scored in thirteen games since the end of November, a period (matchweek 13-25) in which he scored 76 points, the most of any forward.
Against Forest, the beautiful Ilia Gruev (£4.7m) provided his second assist of the evening as his cross was punched into the net by Calvert-Lewin.
He had also seen a header hit the crossbar earlier.
“Going into a season you have to aim for double figures as number 9 in this league. Double figures and above. It’s nice to reach that milestone but I’m hungry for more. I strive every day to improve and keep scoring more goals. The trust that the club, the fanbase and the manager have put in me has helped me a lot. I like to think I’m paying that back. I’m really enjoying my football and leading the way. I haven’t done that.” [scored double figures] for a while. It’s something I’ve been striving for since the last time I did it. I understand that I am judged on goals just like any striker, but I try to lead by example and bring as much experience to the team as possible.” – Dominic Calvert-Lewin
In a performance full of attacking intent, Leeds created seven big chances against Forest, the most they have managed in a single match all season.
They have now lost just two of their last 13 games in all competitions, with a trip to Stamford Bridge on Tuesday.
BOGLE/GUDMUNDSSON THREAT
Leeds were excellent on Friday, with their wing-backs posing a constant threat.
Bogle moved into centre-forward for his opener and fired in after a brilliant pass from Gruev.
“I’ve been working on those runs and luckily, Ilia [Gruev] found me with a great pass and then I tried to stay cool and composed in front of the goal.” –Jayden Bogle
Okafor added a quick second shortly after.
Gabriel Gudmundsson (£3.8 million) was also particularly bright.
Positioned high up the pitch, he found a lot of fun on the left, especially in the first half. A constant outlet for his teammates, Gudmundsson received 14 passes in the final third, the most of any player on the pitch.
Above: Gabriel Gudmundsson’s touch heatmap in Gameweek 25
However, there was no clean sheet for Leeds with Forest debutant Lorenzo Lucca (£5.5m) went into the net late. The 6ft 1in centre-forward carried a threat after coming on, in stark contrast to the ineffective performance of Igor Jesus (£5.8 million).
MURILLO INJURY LAST
Sean Dyche didn’t have an influential centre-back Murillo (£5.2m) on Friday due to injury.
The Brazilian suffered a calf problem on Thursday and has already been sent for a scan.
“He got injured yesterday after training. He reported something in his calf and he’s had a scan and there’s something there. It’s not drastic but we have to hope it calms down quite quickly and it just depends on how his body really heals.” – Sean Dyche on Murillo
The absence of Murillo and the suspended Neco Williams (£4.7 million) forced a defensive reshuffle.
Morato (£4.3m) took Murillo’s place in defence, youngster Zach Abbott (£3.8m) started at right back with Meals of life (£4.7m) goes to the left.
But Forest were all at sea as a result, conceding 2.5 expected goals (xG).
Morato and Abbott were particularly poor while debuting Stefan Ortega (£4.7 million), for the injured Matz Sels (£4.6m), probably should have done better in goal.
“The killer gives away three terrible goals. The first came after we had calmed everything down and started the game. It was a terrible goal from our perspective; just a straight ball over the defense. Nobody likes that as a manager. Then they scored another. At half-time I said we have to reconsider, but then we gave in very early in the second half. Towards the end we try to influence the game – and the substitutes did well – but then it is too late. There is no doubt about the result; they were better than us on the night. You have to do the basics and we didn’t do that. We had to match their energy and we didn’t do that. – Sean Dyche
Williams will be back from suspension at least mid-week, but if Murillo is on the sidelines, that is certainly good news for Matoe van Manne (£4.6m) owners in Double Gameweek 26, with Wolverhampton Wanderers taking on Forest on Wednesday.
The substitution in the 67th minute Morgan Gibbs White (£7.3m), who managed to get himself into some decent positions in the first half, was certainly made with that impending six-pointer in mind, with Forest 3-0 down at the time of his withdrawal.
MORE ANDERSON/STRUIJK DEFCON
Elliot Anderson (£5.3m) collected defensive contribution points (DefCon) for a record ninth consecutive game on Friday.
The central midfielder has now produced DefCon in 18 of his 25 starts this season.
Above: Players sorted by DefCon success rate (%) in 2025/26 (min. 500 minutes)
Pascal Struijk (£4.3m) is another DefCon magnet – he now has a run of eight DefCon returns in his last ten starts.
Tough tests await Leeds this month, with games against Chelsea, Aston Villa and Manchester City on the horizon.
However, Struijk could be a cheap defender from Gameweek 29 onwards, when Leeds’ fixtures become much more favourable.
His first goal of the campaign is certainly coming: Struijk has achieved the highest xG score of any player in the division without a goal so far this season (2.43).
As for Joe Rodon (£3.9m), he should collect DefCon points in the next update.
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