Leeds United squad revealed for Preston North End with four players sidelined
When Leeds United plays Preston North End tonight, they hope to make it to six straight Championship games without a loss. In order to keep up their title challenge, the Whites have only managed to grab nine of the fifteen available points since their March 9 loss at Portsmouth.
Elland Road was in high spirits after three straight draws until Tuesday’s victory over Middlesbrough. United is in complete control of their own destiny as they get ready to play their final five games of the regular league season.
The competition to get promoted automatically is getting more intense. Burnley, Sheffield United, and Leeds are expected to battle in the playoffs and lose out. Daniel Farke, the manager, will be determined to escape the end-of-season knockout competition after the disappointment of the previous year.
After consecutive home draws with Cardiff City and Stoke City, North End travels to West Yorkshire. When the Lilywhites and United last played in December, it ended all square, with United earning a late point thanks to an awful own goal from Jack Whatmough.
“Leeds have started well (in games), that’s what I would say,” said Preston chief Paul Heckingbottom. “Most of the games, an early goal. So, we’ve got to be good for the 90 odd minutes but certainly, they look to start fast. They play forwards, they make a lot of forward runs early on… try and get the crowd up, get the tempo up and, yeah, that’ll be no different. They want to start quick. But the moment you relax at any point in the game, they’ve got players who can hurt you.
“As well as we did at home, we’ve shown that we needed to go the extra couple to get the three points – and we didn’t manage to do it. You go away from home, you’ve got to be good, things have to go your way at times, you’ve got to defend well, be clinical, brave – still get on the ball and try create things, and that’s our challenge. I think the mentality of just sitting in, we know you’ve got to do that, but you’ve got to be brave enough and good enough to take the sting out of the game with the ball and create chances as well.”
