Preston v Leeds United preview: Team news, head-to-head, prediction
Leeds United travel to Deepdale on Saturday knowing that three points could send them back to the summit of the Championship.
The Whites have enjoyed a successful season so far with their recent 3-1 victory over Middlesbrough temporarily taking them to the top of the league before a Sheffield United win against Millwall dethroned them.
Preston have endured a tough campaign so far having won just four of their 20 fixtures leaving them down in 14th in the table.
Preview
Leeds can move back to the top of the Championship with a win against Preston on 14 December albeit Sheffield Utd could once again leapfrog them if they win at the weekend.
Under the realm of Daniel Farke, the Whites have enjoyed a successful campaign so far but with over half of the seasons still to go, consistency is key and they must keep on winning games.
Preston will provide a different type of test to the one posed by Middlesbrough with the hosts likely to get bodies behind the ball and make it difficult for Leeds to play their game.
Added to that, Preston are unbeaten in their last five Championship encounters having recently secured a 2-0 win away to Cardiff City.
The clash at Deepdale should provide an interesting prospect for supporters of both sides.
Form Guide (Championship)
Preston: DDDDW
Leeds United: WWDWW
Head-To-Head (Championship)
Leeds United 2-1 Preston (January 2024)
Preston 2-1 Leeds United (December 2023)
Leeds 1-1 Preston (December 2019)
Preston 1-1 Leeds United (October 2019)
Preston 0-2 Leeds United (April 2019)
Team News
Willy Gnonto could be one notable doubt for the Whites after the Italian was seen limping at the end of their win against Middlesbrough.
Ilia Gruev remains out while Junior Firpo will miss the remainder of the year with a hamstring injury.
Joe Gelhardt is also a doubt, although his lack of inclusion this season would leave the impact of his absence neglibile.
Ched Evans is likely to be the only absentee for the hosts from an injury perspective although Sam Greenwood will miss out as he is on loan from the Whites.
Predicted lineups
Preston: Woodman, Storey, Whatmough, Lindsay, Kesler-Hayden, Bowler, McCann, Thordarson, Holmes, Frokjaer-Jensen, Jakobsen
Leeds United: Meslier, Bogle, Rodon, Struijk, Wober, Rothwell, Tanaka, James, Aaronson, Gnonto, Piroe
Where to watch?
The clash between Leeds and Preston will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Football with the game scheduled to kick off at 12:30 pm GMT.
Prediction – Preston 0-1 Leeds United
Saturday will provide a test to the creative players of Leeds and they will need to be at their best to break through the lines of what is often a sturdy Preston defence.
With that said Farke’s men should have more than enough quality to pick up all three points at Deepdale.
In other Leeds United news, Troy Deeney has shared a “huge” admission on Daniel Farke.
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