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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 UnitedLeeds26158348192953
2Burnley26141023192252
3Sheffield UnitedSheff Utd26166436171952
4Sunderland26148439221750
5Middlesbrough26118743321141
6West Bromwich AlbionWest Brom26913432211140
7Blackburn RoversBlackburn2511682823539
8Bristol City2691073330337
9Watford25114103536-137
10Sheffield WednesdaySheff Weds2610793840-237
11Norwich CityNorwich269984337636
12Swansea CitySwansea2697103030034
13Queens Park RangersQPR2671182934-532
14Millwall257992423130
15Preston North EndPreston2661282834-630
16Coventry CityCoventry2678113437-329
17Oxford UnitedOxford Utd2577112840-1228
18Derby CountyDerby2676133135-427
19Stoke CityStoke2669112432-827
20Luton TownLuton2674152744-1725
21Portsmouth2458113041-1123
22Hull City2658132536-1123
23Cardiff CityCardiff2558122540-1523
24Plymouth ArgylePlymouth2548132453-2920


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