League 1 Saturday afternoon

Leeds V Huddersfield

There can be no doubt that leeds are a level above all the rest in Division 1. 15 points deducted at seasons beginning and still they are favourites to finish top of the pile and make a speedy return to the championship. Their form both home and away has been impressive but at Elland road they have been near on unbeatable. (8 – 1 – 0) is most impressive and the only points dropped were to Leyton Orient back in October when the visitors ground out a dogged 1 – 1 draw. That seemed to be the start of a slide somewhat for Leeds as they dropped further points on the road, being defeated to Cheltenam and Carlisle. However home is where they seem to be most comfortable and they have scored 20 goals and only concede 5. With the Huddersfield game kicking off at 12.15, they have a great chance to get a psychological boost (if you believe in that sort of thing) as a win will take them into second place, albeit possibly only until 4.45. That would put the pressure on the other teams above them to get good results also.

Leeds Last 5 home

Leeds 2 0 Swansea 22/09/2007
Leeds 1 0 Yeovil 06/10/2007
Leeds 4 2 Millwall 27/10/2007
Leeds 2 1 Swindon 17/11/2007
Leeds 3 0 Port Vale 04/12/2007

Team news
Striker’s Leon Constantine and Mark De Vries are out but otherwise
Dennis Wise looks to have a fully fit squad to chose from.


Huddersfield sit in 15 position in the table on 23 points. Like many other teams in this league they are more comfortable at home but they are capable of surprising away from home also as a 1 – 0 win over table toppers Swansea proved a few weeks back. However Southend took them a little more seriously last Wednesday night and ran out convincing 4 – 1 winners. Their away record reads (3 – 0 - 6), they have tasted defeat in their 6 of their last 7 away games and have been well beaten too only scoring 2 goals whilst conceding 15!

Team news
Frank Sinclair and Keeper Matt are both suspended. Alex Smithies will be handed his starting debut as goalkeeper.
Tom Clarke will miss out and Club Captain Jon Worthington also looks unlikely to feature as he continues with his recovery from his long-term hernia problem.

Huddersfield Last 5 away games
Walsall 4 0 Huddersfield 06/10/2007
Doncaster 2 0 Huddersfield 14/10/2007
Tranmere 3 0 Huddersfield 26/10/2007
Swansea 0 1 Huddersfield 16/11/2007
Southend 4 1 Huddersfield 05/12/2007-12-07


Verdict

Owing to the derby nature of this game, a tough tense encounter can be expected. Still it’s hard to ignore the fine form that Leeds have shown at Elland road. They don’t concede many while Huddersfield have really struggled to score, especially away from home.
Home win.

Picks
Leeds -1 asian hdcp (2.16 @ canbet) 6 points
Leeds 1 - 0 Correct score ( 7 @ centrebet) 1 point
Leeds 2 - 0 Correct score (7 @ paddy power) 1 point

Stay tuned for more