Leeds United face Aston Villa for the first time since the 2018/19 season on Friday, and nobody should need reminding what happened the last time these two sides faced off.

If you are in need of a little refresher, Leeds’ last game against the Villans was one of the most controversial games of 2019 with Mateusz Klich scoring a goal while Jonathan Kodjia was down injured before Marcelo Bielsa instructed his players to allow the Midlands outfit to walk the ball into the net unopposed.

However, what is often forgotten about this game is Anwar El Ghazi’s red card and Patrick Bamford’s retrospective ban for deceiving an official.

Dean Smith had some choice words for Bamford after the game calling the incident ‘farcical’ and saying that Bamford should be ashamed of the part he played in getting the Villa man sent off.

Friday is Bamford’s first chance to make Smith eat his words and show him the best side of his game, and it’s something that he should keep in mind to get him revved up for this fixture.

Professional athletes shouldn’t need extra motivation aside from winning the game to help them perform at their best, but anyone who listened to Michael Jordan throughout The Last Dance on Netflix over the summer will tell you that elite sportsmen can find an extra gear and a competitive edge by using these sort of personal vendettas to fuel their fire.

Smith’s words after that game were personal and Bamford should have those in mind ahead of this fixture.

Bamford should be ready to make Smith regret ever calling his professionalism into question and the best way to do that is to bang in a couple of goals past Emi Martinez and consign Aston Villa to their first defeat of the season.

The Leeds striker has been in great form this season netting three goals in his first five games, and he should be in the perfect mindset to add to that tally this weekend.

Fingers crossed Bamford can show Villa exactly what he’s about on Friday evening.