Leeds v Preston preview: Team news, lineups, supercomputer prediction
Leeds United host Preston North End this weekend, in the first of five huge upcoming fixtures.
Leeds United reclaimed their spot at the summit of the Championship with a 1-0 victory against Middlesbrough midweek, and will be looking to extend that advantage at the weekend.
The race for a top two finish looks as though it will go down to the wire, and with Sheffield United and Burnley still to play each other, Leeds may hold the upper hand ahead of their clash with Preston.
Preview
Leeds had been on a wretched run of form before their win against Middlesbrough, which was full of controversy in itself.
However, Leeds were able to rise above that and rectify the form that had seen them in just one of their previous six encounters, though the encounter with Preston provides them with a chance to add to that.
| Championship | Played | GD | Points |
| 1. Leeds United | 41 | +52 | 85 |
| 2. Burnley | 41 | +43 | 85 |
| 3. Sheffield United | 41 | +25 | 83 |
As for the visitors, their season is as good as over. Preston sit 16th in the table, too far away from the top six to have any real go at it, while being far enough away from the bottom three to have any real fears over relegation.
With that said, they will undoubtedly be keen to inflict damage to the Whites’ promotion hopes in front of their own support.
Form guide
Leeds: WDDDW
Preston: DWLDD
Team news
Leeds have largely got their squad back to full capacity, though Pascal Struijk remains injured and will miss the encounter with Preston.
Daniel Farke has very rarely had a full squad to pick from, so he will be delighted to be edging closer to that.
As for the hosts, they have a number of players expected to miss out at Elland Road, with Brad Potts the only one who could possibly make a return.
His return date is expected around mid-April, while Ali McCann, Freddie Woodman and Jack Whatmough are suffering longer-term injuries.
Predicted lineups
Leeds: Darlow, Bogle, Rodon, Ampadu, Firpo, Tanaka, Gruev, Piroe, Gnonto, Solomon, Bamford
Preston: Cornerll, Porteuous, Gibson, Hughes, Brady, Kesler-Hayden, Thordarson, Whiteman, Frokjaer-Jensen, Osmajic, Keane
Where to watch?
Leeds’ encounter with Preston will be broadcast live on Sky Sports +, with the game at Elland Road scheduled to kick off at 12:30pm GMT.
Supercomputer prediction: Leeds win v Preston
Leeds have been handed a 66.7 per cent chance of securing all three points against Preston on Saturday afternoon.
By comparison, Preston have just a 15.1 per cent chance to secure an unlikely three points against the league leaders.
Just an 18.2 per cent chance remains for a draw, which would be a result that Leeds want to avoid.