Leeds United host Southampton at Elland Road in a relegation six-pointer showdown in the fight for Premier League survival.
Victory would see Southampton climb off the foot of the table but will only move out of the relegation zone if West Ham lose elsewhere.
Team News
Max Wober is ruled out for Leeds with a shoulder injury which he suffered during the first half of their defeat at Everton last weekend.
Marc Roca (unspecified), Pascal Struijk (concussion) and Luis Sinsterra (hamstring) could return if declared available for selection by club doctors.
Adam Forshaw (hip), Rodrigo (ankle), Archie Gray (toe) and Stuart Dallas (thigh) are ruled out.
Southampton could welcome Che Adams back into contention after he missed their win at Chelsea with a knock.
Alex McCarthy (ankle) again is a doubt but Valentino Livramento, Stuart Armstrong (both muscle) and Juan Larios (adductor) remain absent.
When is Kick-Off?
Leeds host Southampton at Elland Road in a 3pm GMT kick-off on Saturday 25 February, albeit untelevised live in the UK.
Stat Attack
- Leeds have lost just one of their last five meetings against Southampton (W2, D2, L1).
- Southampton are unbeaten in three of their last five league visits to Leeds (W2, D1, L2).
- Leeds are yet to be awarded a penalty after 29 previous Premier League meetings against Southampton.
- Leeds have won just one of their last nine home matches in the Premier League this season (W1, D4, L4).
- No player has scored more goals from free-kicks this season than Southampton’s James Ward-Prowse (3).
Prediction
With Javi Gracia now in place as manager, Leeds now need to produce an instant reaction to last weekend’s defeat at Everton where their end product once again proved their Achilles heel on top of struggling with the Toffees’ intensity, amidst some excellent defending to minimise their loss.
Southampton meanwhile showed a huge improvement in terms of determination in their overall performance to beat Chelsea, yet they lacked the final touch to finish chances in open play which needs to improve because James Ward-Prowse’s free-kicks won’t be enough for survival.
Both teams though sit bottom of the table so know that this is a must-win but with end product issues within both teams, I just can’t see a winner here but a score draw would look more positive and provide both managers with something to build upon.
Prediction: Leeds 1-1 Southampton
Result: Leeds 1-0 Southampton
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