Both Leeds and Bristol Rovers have players returning from suspension, but the two clubs also have a few injury problems to sort out.
There will be at least two changes to the starting line-up tomorrow for the game against Bristol Rovers. Tresor Kandol will be back after serving a one match ban last week, which is a bit of a relief after Constantine’s rather ineffectual performance as his understudy at Walsall. Meanwhile, Douglas will be missing, and the latest news is that he is expected to be out for at least three months. Dennis Wise told the official site "We're hoping to have him back before the end of the season. He will see the surgeon on Monday, and it all depends what he says. It's a real blow for us and for Dougie. He's a strong character, and he's been leading well as captain. I've been really pleased with him”.
At least Wise has plenty of options to choose from as the replacement in central midfield. Prutton could move inside while Carole comes in to play wide on the right, while Thompson or Howson could come in as a straight replacement. But my preferred option would be to move Hughes back to his best position and bring Ben Parker in as a proper left back. Wise is confident that whatever line-up he selects, the players won’t let him down. "They're all chomping at the bit to play, and this is an opportunity for someone else to come in. It's a testing time because whoever comes in has to play well and keep the momentum going. There's Jonny Howson, Kish, and Alan Thompson, who are all more than capable, but Dougie will be a miss. Hughesy and Prutts can also play in the middle, and the good thing is you can ask players to adapt for you, and they do it."
In September Leeds won 3-0 in Bristol, but the scoreline was down to our excellent finishing rather than the balance of play. At the time Rovers were going well in the league, but that defeat seems to have knocked them out of their stride and they have since dropped down the table to 19th. place. But Wise told the official site that he isn’t expecting an easy game tomorrow. "They aren't flying high at the moment so it'll be a different game. They are a work-horse team who will work at us. How they will play on Saturday I don't know. We'll have to adapt to it on the day. They usually play 4-4-2 and hopefully they will, but they might go with five in the middle. They might sit here and try to get a point, and maybe try and hit us and nick the three points. They all work hard for each other, and it's going to be difficult. We've got to break down them, but we've done very well at home so we'll see what happens."
Rovers have defender Steve Elliott and striker Richard Walker available again after both served three-match suspensions. Midfielder Sean Rigg is expected to be included in the squad but defender Byron Anthony and midfielder Ryan Green will be out due to foot and jaw injuries respectively. Meanwhile, Rovers boss Paul Trollope has been full of praise for our strikers this week.
“I know about their home record, and it's magnificent I've been certain for a while that Leeds will be promoted at the end of the season, and if we're going to hinder that slightly this weekend then the one thing I have to stress to my players is the importance of taking chances. That was the only difference in September. We competed well and dominated them at times but we didn't make the most of our opportunities and their finishing was deadly. The big advantage that Leeds have over everyone else is their quality inside the box. It's outstanding at this level.”
Even though Rovers will be determined to make life difficult for Leeds, it’s difficult to look beyond yet another home win, given the gap between the two clubs in the table. So I’ll plump for a Leeds win by several goals.