Aiming to strengthen their position in second spot in the Championship table in the fight for automatic promotion, Leeds United will travel to Home Park on Saturday to take on Plymouth Argyle.
Thanks to a run of seven straight league wins, the visitors sit two points ahead of third-placed Southampton, while their hosts climbed up to 15th spot with a midweek draw amidst a pleasing run of their own.
Match preview
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Plymouth Argyle head into the weekend aiming to continue a positive run under the management of Ian Foster, having quickly climbed away from the threat of relegation in recent weeks.
After winning League One and climbing to England's second tier last term, the Pilgrims have adjusted in pleasing fashion, collecting 37 points from their first 31 matches and sitting 15th at this stage as a result.
Indeed, eight of those points have come from their first five matches under the tutelage of new boss Foster, who began his tenure with a 1-1 draw away at Huddersfield Town before overseeing back-to-back Championship wins over Cardiff City and Swansea City.
A tough trip to Sunderland followed last weekend, and the Home Park outfit left empty-handed from a 3-1 defeat, before most recently hosting playoff-chasing Coventry City on Wednesday and taking a creditable point from a 2-2 draw, albeit in agonising fashion, having twice gone ahead through Morgan Whittaker and Mikel Miller, only to be pegged back by an injury-time leveller from Liam Kitching.
Despite that disappointing setback, Plymouth Argyle do now find themselves in a healthy mid-table position with an eight-point lead over the relegation zone, and they will aim to build on their recent form with another three-point haul at the weekend to further strengthen their position.
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That will be no easy task, though, as the visitors arrive as the division's form side in their hunt for an immediate promotion back to the Premier League this season.
Under the stewardship of Daniel Farke, Leeds United head into the weekend in second place in the Championship having earned 66 points from their 32 games thus far, winning 20 of those while only suffering six defeats.
The Yorkshire outfit did find themselves well back in the fight for a top-two finish following back-to-back defeats at the hands of Preston North End and West Bromwich Albion during the festive period, but they have since moved into pole position with an eye-catching seven-match winning run since the turn of the year, firstly seeing off Birmingham City, Cardiff City, Preston and Norwich City in January.
Farke's men have since added to their run in similarly fine fashion, beating Bristol City and Rotherham United 1-0 and 3-0 respectively before most recently dishing out a 4-0 thrashing away at Swansea City on Tuesday courtesy of early goals from Crysencio Summerville and Joel Piroe and a Willy Gnonto brace.
Having now overtaken Southampton with that win and moved into the top two, albeit only leading the Saints by two points having played a game more, Leeds United will now go in search of an eighth straight Championship win to strengthen their position in the automatic promotion spots.
Team News
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Plymouth Argyle should avoid making many changes from their midweek draw with Coventry City on Saturday, with goalkeeper Michael Cooper and forward Mustapha Bundu remaining confined to the treatment room, while midfielder Darko Gyabi will not be eligible to feature against his parent club.
In Cooper's absence, Conor Hazard will continue between the sticks, while 18-year-old Tottenham Hotspur loanee Ashley Phillips should again join Lewis Gibson and Brendan Galloway in a back three with Bali Mumba and goalscorer Mikel Miller both vying to return in full-back roles after settling for substitute appearances on Wednesday.
At the top end of the pitch, Ryan Hardie will continue to lead the line with support from wide from Alfie Devine and star man Morgan Whittaker, who sits joint-top of the Championship scoring charts with 17 league goals alongside seven assists in 31 appearances so far this term.
While steering clear of wholesale changes after a 4-0 midweek victory, Daniel Farke may opt to rotate his Leeds United squad somewhat for the trip to Home Park given their strength in depth, with Patrick Bamford fighting to return to contention after missing the Swansea game through injury while Stuart Dallas, Pascal Struijk and Jamie Shackleton remain confined to the treatment room.
In Struijk's absence, Ethan Ampadu will continue alongside Joe Rodon in the middle of the back four, while their Welsh compatriot Connor Roberts could earn a start on the right-hand side, having featured off the bench in recent weeks after joining on loan from Burnley.
At the other end of the pitch, Georginio Rutter and Joel Piroe should continue to feature through the centre of their attacking line in a 4-2-3-1 shape if Bamford is not deemed fit to start, while Jaidon Anthony and Daniel James will fight for spots out wide after Crysencio Summerville and Willy Gnonto featured and scored on Tuesday, with the former boasting 15 goals and eight assists in the Championship so far this term and the latter having netted four goals in his last four appearances.
Plymouth Argyle possible starting lineup:
Hazard; Phillips, Gibson, Galloway; Miller, Randell, Houghton, Mumba; Whittaker, Hardie, Devine
Leeds United possible starting lineup:
Meslier; Roberts, Ampadu, Rodon, Firpo; Kamara, Gruev; Gnonto, Rutter, James; Piroe
We say: Plymouth Argyle 0-2 Leeds United
Home Park is certainly a tough place to visit, but Leeds United did prevail in an eventual 4-1 win on the South Coast when the sides met in the FA Cup earlier this month, and with a full-strength starting XI and plenty of momentum on their side, we fancy Farke's men to come out on top again.
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Sam Varley
