Leeds United at Bristol City Preview: Whites regroup for a 4th vs. 6th clash at Ashton Gate
Leeds travel to the South West looking to knock the Robins from their perch and take the 3 points back to West Yorkshire.
It could be said that Leeds United were surprise league leaders in September, but Bristol City have also raised a few eyebrows with their steady climb up the table into the playoff places. The Robins are currently nesting in 4th.
Leeds meanwhile slumped to their 3rd defeat in a row last weekend at the hands of Reading FC. Perhaps tomorrow’s fixture gives the Whites a chance to regroup and regain lost confidence away from Elland Road and away from the critical and expectant eyes of home supporters and sell-out crowds.
United travel to Ashton Gate, a venue that has been generous to Leeds over the years, and 3,700 Whites fans will be accompanying them to offer, as always, their vocal support and hoping to see their passion mirrored on the pitch.
They will be hoping for recalls for Ronaldo Vieira and Stuart Dallas to the starting line up. Phillips and Roofe could be the ones to miss out if that change happens.
Key Battles
With the displays earlier this season from Leeds, we know there is talent in the squad and that something is amiss in the minds of the players. It seems that the key battle could well be in United’s players own heads. This game will provide us with a glimpse of what Thomas Christiansen and our players are made of. We need a manager that can not only pick the right team but who is able to motivate and inspire. And we need leaders out on the pitch.
Our leader Liam Cooper must inspire our troops and his fellow centre-back Pontus Jansson into re-discovering some of that lost confidence. He can do that by putting in another of the displays with which he has silenced his critics (of last season) and by keeping out Famara Diédhiou, Bristol City’s Senegalese hitman, in another key battle tomorrow.
Make no mistake, the Robins are playing well and recently hammered Ipswich at Portman Road 3–1. In Aiden Flint, who is Championship player of the month for September and who we wanted as one of our own, they have an extremely capable centre back. He has netted 3 times this season. Alongside him is Australian international and Bristol captain Bailey Wright.
It’s a tough ask to go away to an in-form team and break down a defence consisting of such players but that’s the final key battle I want to mention: It’s what Lasogga has to do. He is a self-proclaimed “true number 9” that likes to score from inside the box. If that is the case then he needs to make his presence felt in the area, out-muscle and get behind Flint and Wright, and the sooner in the game the better. United haven’t scored in over 200 minutes of football and a goal from Lasogga will lift the entire team.
Although a positive result is required, it’s sometimes the manner in which a team plays that can inspire them for the next game: It’s that what we ask of them now.
What we know about Bristol City
The Robins are owned by Guernsey billionaire Stephen Lansdown (CBE) and managed by Lee Johnson. Johnson is a relatively young coach who has previously managed Oldham and Barnsley.
They have only been defeated once so far this season, away to Birmingham.
Top scorers are Bobby Reid with 8 and Famara Diédhiou with 6.
Diédhiou was their biggest transfer in at £5.3 Million (a club record) whilst their biggest name out of the gate was Lee Tomlin to Cardiff (Undisclosed).
Form
Leeds United: L | W | L | L | L
Bristol City: W | D | W | W | D
Head to Head
From 15 meetings at Ashton Gate, Leeds have won 7, Bristol 3 with 5 draws.
WHAT
Bristol City vs. Leeds United
EFL Championship Fixture
#BRCLEE
WHERE
Ashton Gate Stadium, Bristol
LUTV, BBC Radio Leeds, International Listings
WHEN
Saturday, 21 October 2017
3:00pm BT
WHO
Leeds United’s predicted starting XI
Lonergan, Anita, Jansson, Cooper, Ayling, Vieira, O’Kane, Dallas, Saiz, Alioski, Lasogga
Bristol City’s predicted starting XI
Fielding, Wright, Flint, Baker, Bryan, Leko, Smith, Brownhill, Patterson, Reid, Diedhiou
ODDS
Leeds 13/5
Draw 12/5
Bristol Evens
PREDICTION
Being a Leeds fan, it is possible to be an optimist and a pessimist at the same time. I’m optimistic about seeing a good battling performance from the lads, but with our poor form, I am pessimistic about coming away with three points.
Stopping the rot and putting in a decent display is what Saturday is all about for me. A draw 1–1.
