High-flying Leeds United travel to Preston North End this weekend for a Championship clash at Deepdale, hoping to keep the pressure on league leaders Sheffield United.
The visitors trail the Blades by a point in the league table, but a draw or win against Preston would send Leeds top for a few hours at least, with Chris Wilder's side facing Plymouth Argyle later in the afternoon.
Match preview
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After missing out on an instant return to the Premier League last season due to losing the playoff final to Southampton, the visitors have looked determined to go a step further this season.
With seven wins and a draw from their last 10 games, there are plenty of reasons for the Elland Road faithful to be optimistic about automatic promotion this time around.
Their most recent victory came in midweek against fellow promotion contenders Middlesbrough, a result that sent them to the top for one night, before Sheffield United's win away to Millwall returned them to second place.
That triumph against Middlesbrough continued their impressive home form at Elland Road, where the Yorkshire side have only dropped five points all season.
Another key to their success this year has been their prolific attack - the Whites lead the league in scoring with 36 goals in 20 matches.
However, despite the many positives surrounding the club this season, one area for improvement would be their away form of late - with one win in their last six away games, boss Daniel Farke will be hoping that they can start to put that right this weekend.
The German will have good reason to believe their fortunes can change at Deepdale, as Preston have won just three of their 10 games at home in the league this season.
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That record is only part of the reason why it has been a challenging year for the Lilywhites, as the club parted ways with former manager Ryan Lowe just one game into the new campaign.
Lowe was replaced in the dugout by former Leeds manager Paul Heckingbottom, who had a brief spell in charge at Elland Road back in 2018.
Under Heckingbottom, the hosts have struggled to gain momentum this season, as they sit in 14th in the standings with 22 points from 20 games.
They are also one of the lowest-scoring teams in the division, averaging one goal a game, with 20 goals scored in their 20 games this season.
Only the clubs currently in the relegation zone, Cardiff City, Plymouth and Hull City, have scored fewer goals than Preston this season, highlighting a significant concern for the club.
However, Heckingbottom will be hopeful his side have turned a corner, as they secured their first away win of the season in a 2-0 success against Cardiff on Wednesday.
That victory was their first in any competition since October and moved the Lilywhites five points clear of the drop zone in the Championship table.
Should they upset the odds this weekend against Leeds, Preston will start looking up the standings, rather than nervously looking over their shoulders at the teams below them.
Team News
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Milutin Osmajic netted in midweek against Cardiff for the first time since returning from his eight-match ban for biting Blackburn Rovers defender Owen Beck.
The striker is expected to feature again this weekend, but he may begin the match on the bench, as he has done regularly since returning to action.
Elsewhere, the hosts will be without the experienced Robbie Brady, who has been sidelined for almost two months due to an ankle injury, while Ched Evans is expected to be out until the end of the month.
As for Leeds, they will be without Joe Gelhardt for the rest of the month due to a hip injury, while Junior Firpo (hamstring) and Ilia Gruev (knee) are both expected to be sidelined until January.
Preston North End possible starting lineup:
Woodman; Kesler-Hayden, Hughes, Whatmough, Storey, Potts; Thordarson, Frokjaer-Jensen, McCann; Riis Jakobsen, Greenwood
Leeds United possible starting lineup:
Meslier; Wober, Struijk, Rodon, Bogle; Tanaka, Rothwell, James, Aaronson, Gnonto; Joseph
We say: Preston North End 1-2 Leeds United
While Leeds have struggled on the road in recent weeks, their firepower should be enough to overcome Preston here.
As the Championship's leading scorers, they will aim to pile the pressure on Sheffield United at the top, and we think they will do that with a 2-1 victory at Deepdale this weekend.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Tom Humphrey
