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Sports Mole previews Wednesday’s Championship clash between Leeds United and Luton Town, including predictions, team news and possible lineups.
Aiming to build a lead at the top of the Championship table, Leeds United will welcome Luton Town to Elland Road on Wednesday.
The hosts moved to the summit with a second straight victory on Sunday but only lead second and third spots on goal difference, while their visitors climbed to 16th spot with a return to winning ways after the recent international break.
Match preview
Leeds United head back to Elland Road on Wednesday aiming to strengthen their position at the top of the Championship table with a third straight league victory, having moved into first spot for the first time this season on Sunday.
Aiming to win promotion back to the Premier League at the second time of asking under the management of Daniel Farke, they again enjoyed a strong start to the campaign in England’s second tier, having headed into the November international break in third spot with 29 points on the board from 15 outings, winning eight of those games and only suffering two defeats.
On their return to action, the Whites visited Swansea City on Sunday and eventually took all three points from a dramatic encounter, having been pegged back to 3-3 in injury time after Manor Solomon‘s brace and Ben Cabango‘s own goal had them ahead, only for Willy Gnonto to restore their lead a minute later and seal all three points for Farke’s men.
Indeed, the Yorkshire outfit’s tally of 28 goals is now only bettered by Middlesbrough, with only two sides having conceded more than the 12 goals they have allowed in their 15 games, while they also boast the division’s best home record having picked up 19 points from eight matches at Elland Road including five straight wins heading into Wednesday’s test.
Still only leading Sunderland and Sheffield United on goal difference, Leeds United will now bid to strengthen their position with a sixth straight home league triumph on Wednesday.
Their visitors, meanwhile, head to Elland Road aiming to end that run with a second straight victory of their own to continue a climb up the Championship table.
In a bid to bounce back to the Premier League after suffering relegation from the top flight last season, Luton Town endured a particularly poor start to the new campaign, heading into the recent break in 20th spot and only above the relegation zone on goal difference after picking up just 15 points from their first 15 games.
In those matches, the Hatters suffered a joint-league-high tally of eight defeats while picking up just four victories, but they were able to begin a much-needed turnaround with a return to winning ways at the weekend when they hosted Hull City at Kenilworth Road.
With pressure growing on Rob Edwards, his side were able to see out a 1-0 triumph with just a fifth clean sheet of the term, after Mark McGuinness netted the only goal of the game around the half-hour mark.
That result saw Luton Town climb up to 16th spot, and now only trailing 11th spot by two points and ninth spot by four, they will be keen to make it two wins on the bounce in Wednesday’s tough test in a bid to move towards the right end of the table in the coming weeks.
Leeds United Championship form:
Luton Town Championship form:
Team News
Leeds United will remain without defender Junior Firpo, who will serve the final game of a three-match ban on Wednesday, while midfielders Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev are still confined to the treatment room.
In Firpo’s absence, Sam Byram should continue to complete the back four alongside Joe Rodon, Pascal Struijk and Jayden Bogle, while Ao Tanaka and Joe Rothwell should again partner up in the midfield despite competition from Joshua Guilavogui.
Willy Gnonto should return to the attacking setup from the outset after his winning goal on Sunday, likely joining Brenden Aaronson and Manor Solomon, who netted a brace at the weekend, in support of either Joel Piroe or Mateo Joseph up front.
Rob Edwards should field a similar Luton Town starting XI from Saturday’s 1-0 win over Hull, but Shandon Baptiste, who picked up an injury concern in that game, should be replaced by the returning Jordan Clark, who served a suspension last time out.
Clark will likely join Tom Krauss in the middle of their 3-4-1-2 setup, while Marvelous Nakamba should again deputise in a left wing-back role in the absence of Alfie Doughty through injury.
Daiki Hashioka will hope to return on the opposite side, after Reece Burke was preferred at the weekend, while Carlton Morris and Elijah Adebayo should again get the nod up front despite competition from Jacob Brown, Cauley Woodrow and Joe Taylor.
Leeds United possible starting lineup:
Meslier; Bogle, Struijk, Rodon, Byram; Tanaka, Rothwell; Gnonto, Aaronson, Solomon; Joseph
Luton Town possible starting lineup:
Kaminski; Mengi, McGuinness, Holmes; Burke, Baptiste, Krauss, Nakamba; Chong; Adebayo, Morris
We say: Leeds United 1-0 Luton Town
Luton Town will certainly be boosted by the weekend’s victory and have more quality than their current standing suggests, but they face one of the division’s toughest tests on Wednesday.
Leeds United have won each of their last five home games, only conceding once along the way, and we back them to come out on top at Elland Road once again.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
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