MX23RW : Thursday, April 25 09:10:44| >> :120:72758:72758:
[monks data]
Leeds logo
Championship
Jan 18, 2014 at 12.15pm UK
 
Leicester logo

0-1

FT(HT: 0-0)
Nugent (87')

Preview: Leeds United vs. Leicester City

Sports Mole previews Saturday's early Championship kickoff as out-of-form Leeds take on league leaders Leicester at Elland Road.

Leeds United will be looking to put their Yorkshire derby horror show behind them when they host league leaders Leicester City at Elland Road on Saturday.

The hosts' poor form hit its nadir last weekend when rivals Sheffield Wednesday thrashed them 6-0 at Hillsborough, with Leeds having a man sent off to compound their misery.

That made it four defeats in a row and six matches without a win in all competitions for Brian McDermott's side, leaving them 11th in the Championship table and four points off the playoffs.

Worryingly for Leeds, Leicester represent the toughest test yet in that torrid run of form, but McDermott will be telling his side that there is nothing quite like a win over the league leaders to raise morale.

They will have to do it without striker Matt Smith, who was shown a red card within two minutes of coming on as a half-time sub against Wednesday and will now miss three games through suspension.

That means that the league's top scorer Ross McCormack is likely to lead the line alone once again, while Jimmy Kebe and Cameron Stewart are expected to start despite not making the desired impact on their debut last week.

Leicester will be licking their lips coming into this game given the respective form of the two sides, but they will also be wary of a Leeds backlash.

The Foxes now lead the table by four points following a comprehensive 4-1 victory over in-form Derby County last Friday - a result that made it five league wins in a row for Nigel Pearson's side.

They are now clear favourites to be playing top flight football next season, and the recent arrivals of Riyad Mahrez and Kevin Phillips have strengthened their squad even further.

That duo are expected to be on the bench for Saturday's game, alongside Chris Wood and Sean St Ledger, who could return to the squad but aren't likely to start.

Recent form

Leeds: DDLLLL

Leicester: WWWWLW

Possible starting lineups

Leeds: Kenny; Byram, Pearce, Lees, Pugh; Stewart, Austin, Murphy, Mowatt, Kebe; McCormack

Leicester: Schmeichel; De Laet, Moore, Morgan, Konchesky; Knockaert, James, Drinkwater, Dyer; Vardy, Nugent

Sports Mole says: 0-2


ID:130808: cacheID:130808:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:4896:No Data Analysis info

Previews by email

Click here to get Sports Mole's daily email of previews and predictions for every major game!


Restore Data
Share this article now:
Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson looks on ahead of the Championship playoff semi-final against Watford on May 9, 2013
Read Next:
Preview: Leicester vs. Burnley
>
rhs 2.0
Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leicester CityLeicester443041086394794
2Leeds UnitedLeeds44279880374390
3Ipswich TownIpswich432611685533289
4Southampton442591085612484
5West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom4420121267442372
6Norwich CityNorwich442191477611672
7Hull City441912136556969
8Coventry CityCoventry4317121468551363
9Middlesbrough44189176460463
10Preston North EndPreston44189175661-563
11Cardiff CityCardiff44195205061-1162
12Bristol City441611175147459
13Sunderland44168205251156
14Swansea CitySwansea441511185762-556
15Watford441217155958153
16Millwall441411194355-1253
17Stoke CityStoke441311204460-1650
18Queens Park RangersQPR441311204157-1650
19Blackburn RoversBlackburn441310215874-1649
20Plymouth ArgylePlymouth441212205869-1148
21Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds44138233968-2947
22Birmingham CityBirmingham441210224864-1646
23Huddersfield TownHuddersfield44917184774-2744
RRotherham UnitedRotherham44412283285-5324


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!