Imminent Leeds United lift expected but with cautionary tale and striker update key

Daniel Farke's 19th-placed Whites are still seeking their first win of the new Championship season but the bookies expect Leeds to get it in Friday night's hosting of West Brom under the Elland Road lights (kick-off 8pm).

United are odds-on with a few firms and no bigger than 21-20 but the Whites were a similar price for Saturday's 1-0 defeat at Birmingham City and long odds-on for the season opener against Cardiff City which ended in a 2-2 draw.

That presents a clear cautionary tale despite Carlos Corberan's 14th-placed Baggies being as big as 14-5 – with 13-5 on offer about the draw. The first scorer betting also highlights the importance of last season's joint top scorer Brandon Thomas-Asante being fit for Corberan's side.

Thomas-Asante missed last weekend's 3-2 victory at home to Swansea City due to an ankle injury and the 24-year-old is rated West Brom's key threat in being 8-1 to net the game's first goal. Four Leeds players are ahead of him in the shape of market leader Joe Gelhardt (6-1), Georginio Rutter (13-2), Luis Sinisterra (13-2) and Dan James (15-2).

Baggies summer signing Josh Maja is next at 8s followed by Whites pair Sonny Perkins and Ian Poveda who are both 17-2. No goalscorer is then next at 9-1 followed by Baggies bunch Jovan Malcolm (10s), Matt Phillips (11s), Jed Wallace (11s), injury doubt Grady Diangana (11s), John Swift (12s), Tom Fellows (14s) and Jeremy Sarmiento (15s). Archie Gray is then 16s followed by Jamie Shackleton at 17s.

But a 1-1 draw is favourite in the correct score market at 6-1, albeit only marginally ahead of a 1-0 win for Leeds at 13-2, followed by a 2-1 triumph for the hosts at 8-1 and a 2-0 Whites success at 9s.

Leeds started the season as second favourites to win the division behind clear market leaders Leicester City, just in front of Southampton but the Whites have already been pushed out to third favourites at 10-1. Farke's side are now only marginally shorter than fourth favourites Ipswich Town who are 11s.

West Brom are eighth in the list at 25s, behind Leicester (3s), Southampton (6s), Leeds (10s), Ipswich (11s), Norwich City (16s), Watford (18s) and Middlesbrough (22s).