Sheffield Wednesday vs Leeds United. Sky Bet Championship.
HillsboroughAttendance27,516.
Watch live on Sky Sports Football from 12pm on Saturday; Kick-off is at 12.30pm
Saturday 26 October 2019 12:20, UK
Sheffield Wednesday face Leeds in the Sky Bet Championship on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Football.
Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Keiren Westwood is back in contention following an ankle injury suffered in the warm-up prior to last Friday's 1-1 draw with Cardiff, but boss Garry Monk could stick with Cameron Dawson.
Midfielder Massimo Luongo is fit after limping off following his winning goal in the midweek victory over Stoke at Hillsborough.
Leeds United skipper Liam Cooper (groin) is fit, but boss Marcelo Bielsa could retain the side that started the 1-1 draw at Preston North End in midweek.
Patrick Bamford is likely to continue up front ahead of Arsenal loanee Eddie Nketiah, despite not scoring since the 3-0 win over Stoke on August 24.
Massimo Luongo's first-half strike was enough to see Sheffield Wednesday past lowly Stoke on Tuesday evening at Hillsborough, as they extended their unbeaten league run to three. Last weekend, Garry Monk's men were held to a 1-1 draw by Cardiff, following a 1-0 win over Wigan prior to the international break.
Leeds' inconsistency was highlighted once more in midweek, as they were held to a 1-1 draw away at Preston. That came after a 1-0 win over Birmingham and a 2-1 defeat to Millwall. Marcelo Bielsa's side have won just two of their last six fixtures and haven't scored more than one goal since September 15.
Sheffield Wednesday boss Garry Monk: "I think Leeds are up there with a couple who were probably favourites at the start of the season and they are expected to go up, as they were last year. Unlucky in the situation they had in the play-offs but all credit to Derby what they did. That's the expectation of that club.
"It's a big season for them but we are on our own path and have got our own focus. We respect the fact they are a good team with the way that they play, but we'll work our way, focus on ourselves and if we do that, we know we can give ourselves a good opportunity to win the game."
Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa: "All the matches are difficult, whatever position in the table the opposition are in, it's always a hard game. Sheffield Wednesday's style has changed, they've improved a lot, they are not easy to play against, they force opponents into mistakes and their players respond well to the manager's tactics.
"In the Championship the results don't allow you to say any team is great, it's very inconsistent. This year the team is better, the level of the players are better, we have more options in the squad."
This summer, Leeds agreed a season-long loan deal with Arsenal for promising young striker Eddie Nketiah, but to this point it's Patrick Bamford who has started all 13 league games. However there is growing pressure for something to give after Nketiah again came off the bench on Tuesday night to score a late equaliser at Preston.
In just two starts, the youngster has scored five goals, giving him a remarkable ratio of 78 minutes per goal in all competitions, yet in a lengthy rant during his press conference earlier this week, Leeds boss Bielsa backed Bamford, who hasn't scored since August.
None of the last 42 league meetings between Sheffield Wednesday and Leeds United have ended goalless since a 0-0 draw in April 1969 in the top-flight.
Excluding play-offs, the most shots by a team against an opponent in the Championship last season was Leeds against Sheffield Wednesday (53 across two games), though they only scored twice against the Owls.
Sheffield Wednesday have lost just one of their last seven league games, winning four and drawing two.
Leeds have won their last four away league Yorkshire derbies, last winning five in a row between 1997-2000 in the Premier League which included three wins at Hillsborough.
Since leaving Leeds in May 2017, Garry Monk has faced his former side on three occasions, winning twice (both with Birmingham last season) and losing once (with Middlesbrough in November 2017).
Sheffield Wednesday boss Garry Monk is one of only two managers Marcelo Bielsa has lost more one game against as Leeds manager, along with Steve McClaren.
Now this is always a fun game. Two big Yorkshire rivals and both in decent form as well, it should be a cracker!
Sheffield Wednesday aren't blowing teams away but they are picking up points under Garry Monk and moving up the table, while Leeds are dominating but can't seem to put enough chances away. This has the makings of an entertaining draw.
David Prutton predicts: 2-2 (14/1 with Sky Bet)
