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[monks data]
Attendance: 36,514
Leeds logo
Championship | Gameweek 37
Mar 7, 2020 at 3pm UK
 
Huddersfield logo

2-0

Ayling (3'), Bamford (51')
FT(HT: 1-0)

Preview: Leeds United vs. Huddersfield Town - prediction, team news, lineups

Sports Mole previews Saturday's Championship clash between Leeds United and Huddersfield Town, including predictions and team news.

Leeds United's quest for Championship promotion continues on Saturday with a home match against Huddersfield Town.

The Whites have got their campaign firmly back on track with four wins in a row - three of those by a 1-0 scoreline - while Yorkshire rivals Huddersfield are also in good form.


Match preview

Leeds United's Luke Ayling celebrates with teammates after he scores their first goal on February 29, 2020© Reuters

A run of two wins in 11 league matches between mid-December and mid-February led to the same questions being asked of Leeds, who have become famous in recent seasons for collapsing following strong starts.

Marcelo Bielsa stuck to his guns, though, and wins over Bristol City, Reading, Middlesbrough and Hull City have given United a five-point buffer on third-placed Fulham.

Leeds have kept clean sheets in each of those four straight wins and are aiming to make it five in a row for the first time since December 2009.

After grinding out a few wins, United turned on the style in last week's trip to Hull by scoring four unanswered goals, two of those coming via substitute Tyler Roberts late on.

Just 10 games stand between Bielsa's men and a place in the Premier League, including a potentially huge showdown with Fulham at Elland Road later this month.

Any sort of slip-up between now and then will only increase the pressure going into that fixture, and Huddersfield appear to have turned a corner in recent weeks.

Huddersfield Town manager Danny Cowley gives a thumbs up to the crowd at the end of the match on February 29, 2020© Reuters

The Terriers followed up a slump in form with wins against Bristol City and Charlton Athletic - the latter a 4-0 triumph - and are now four points above the dropzone.

That is not a big enough gap for Danny Cowley to declare that survival is a certainty, though things certainly look a lot better now compared to a couple of weeks ago after a late collapse at Swansea City left them one place above the bottom three.

Huddersfield have won on their last two trips to Elland Road and are seeking a third win on the bounce there for the first time since 1930.

Not since February 2017 have they won more than three league games in a row. On that occasion they won six on the bounce, including a victory over Leeds.

Leeds United's Championship form: LDWWWW

Huddersfield Town's Championship form: WLDLWW


Team News

Leeds goalkeeper Kiko Casilla pictured in February 2020© Reuters

Emile Smith Rowe was substituted during Huddersfield's win against Charlton after complaining of a back injury, while Danny Simpson received treatment to his knee in the same match.

Both players are expected to be okay to start this weekend, however, while Andy King is back in contention after recovering from a niggling hamstring issue.

Jonathan Hogg is still absent after injuring his knee ligaments, so Chelsea loanee Trevoh Chalobah should get the nod alongside Lewis O'Brien in defensive midfield once again.

Leeds goalkeeper Iker Casilla is sitting out the second of an eight-match ban for racially abusing Charlton's Jonathan Leko earlier in the campaign.

Illan Meslier kept his side's clean sheet streak intact last time out and will retain his place here.

Roberts starred from the bench in Leeds's biggest win of the Bielsa reign against Hull after Patrick Bamford fired another blank.

Bielsa may therefore opt to tweak things upfront, but changes are otherwise expected to be kept to a minimum.

Leeds United possible starting lineup:
Meslier; Ayling, White, Cooper, Dallas; Costa, Klich, Phillips, Harrison; Hernandez; Roberts

Huddersfield Town possible starting lineup:
Lossl; Simpson, Stearman, Schindler, Toffolo; Chalobah, O'Brien; Willock, Smith Rowe, Grant, Campbell


Sports Mole Logo

We say: Leeds United 1-0 Huddersfield Town

Huddersfield have eased their relegation fears with back-to-back wins and boast a good recent record at Elland Road. Leeds are over their recent wobble, however, and we are tipping them to make it a third 1-0 win in a row on home soil.



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Written by
Daniel Lewis

Data Analysis

Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a win with a probability of 64.67%. A draw had a probability of 20.4% and a win for had a probability of 14.89%.

The most likely scoreline for a win was 2-0 with a probability of 11.55%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 1-0 (11.41%) and 2-1 (9.83%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (9.72%), while for a win it was 0-1 (4.8%).


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Leeds goalkeeper Kiko Casilla pictured in February 2020
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