We could be treated to the rare sight of Ben Parker lining up for the first team, as Middlesbrough come to Leeds for the big new year’s day game. Don’t forget that it’s a 1pm kick-off.
George McCartney's current loan deal comes to end at midnight tonight, which will give Simon Grayson a selection problem as he picks his team to face to Midlesboro. Leeds are negotiating with Sunderland to try to arrange another loan spell for the left-back, but whatever the outcome of these talks, it will be too late for him to line up tomorrow.
So Ben Parker could make his first appearance in more than eight months, though Grayson will have other options for the left-back position, as Hughes, Johnson or Bessone (god forbid!) could all play there. If Parker does play then all Leeds fans will keep their fingers crossed, as he deserves a bit of luck after all the injury problems that have dogged him for the last few years.
Neil Kilkenny is available to make his final appearance before joining up with the Australia squad ahead of the Asian Cup in Qatar. Grayson has remained tight-lipped as to whether he is considering any other changes, but as the busy holiday schedule continues he might be tempted to rest one or two other players and take advantage of the big squad he has assembled.
Even though Middlesbrough are struggling at the wrong end of the table, Simon Grayson is still warning Leeds to expect a difficult game. He told the official site "I think they are in something of a false position in the league. They are in a dangerous position at the moment, but they have enough to get out of that. They have players capable of winning games. But I'm more concerned about us, and Middlesbrough will be aware of what we can do as a team."
Our win at the Riverside in October spelt the end for Gordon Strachan, and Boro have yet to see any great upsurge in form under Tony Mowbray, having won only four games since he took charge. They did at least manage to beat bottom club Preston on Tuesday, but they are still sitting uncomfortably in 21st place in the table, only one point above the relegation zone. It’s a pretty lamentable performance for a club who should have a massive advantage over most of the clubs in this division, thanks to the huge ‘parachute payments’ they’re receiving from the Premier League this season.
But despite their precarious position, Mowbray is determined that his side will continue to play good football, a naïve trait he showed two years ago while in charge of a West Brom team who went straight back down from the Premiership only one year after promotion. He told the Middlesbrough Gazette “I used to enjoy going to Leeds when I was with West Brom. The pitch is big, and if you are a footballing side that can move the ball quickly you can create chances and score goals. It should be an entertaining game and we go there with the confidence of an away victory behind us.”
Middlesbrough’s one selection problem is that they need to assess the fitness of midfilder Barry Robson, who has been struggling with a virus, and his chances of being fit for the game are rated as no better than 50-50.
Boro’s attack-minded approach could mean yet another difficult afternoon for our defence, especially if Collins is playing, so it might need a few goals for us to beat them. But they have lost all seven of their away games against teams who are currently in the top half of the table, and I don’t expect them to break that sequence tomorrow. I think Leeds will win a high scoring game, maybe by three goals to two.