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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


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Written by
Barney Corkhill
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Leicester City manager Nigel Pearson looks on ahead of the Championship playoff semi-final against Watford on May 9, 2013
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Today's games header
Tables header RHS
TeamPWDLFAGDPTS
1Leeds UnitedLeeds30189360194163
2Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd30196541212061
3Burnley30151323692758
4Sunderland291510442241855
5Blackburn RoversBlackburn30136113429545
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom301014639271244
7Middlesbrough29128947361144
8Norwich CityNorwich30119104942742
9Bristol City30101283835342
10Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds30119104346-342
11Coventry CityCoventry30118114138341
12Watford30125134042-241
13Millwall301010103027340
14Queens Park RangersQPR30911103339-638
15Preston North EndPreston3081393338-537
16Oxford UnitedOxford Utd30910113444-1037
17Swansea CitySwansea3097143242-1034
18Stoke CityStoke30711122837-932
19Cardiff CityCardiff30710133351-1831
20Portsmouth3079143652-1630
21Hull City3078153140-929
22Derby CountyDerby3076173241-927
23Luton TownLuton3076173049-1927
24Plymouth ArgylePlymouth30510152963-3425


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