Leeds United
Millwall V Leeds - Match preview
By Paddy Mc
April 18 2008
Saturday’s game at the New Den sees Leeds United face their 2nd of 3 consecutive away games during what is becoming a pivotal stage in the club’s season. Leeds suffered a derby defeat on Tuesday night against Huddersfield Town at the Galpharm stadium, which was their 1st defeat in 7 games.
The defeat hurt the fans and hopefully the players alike, and the Leeds United faithful will be expecting a response from their side, where a victory could leave the club within touching distance of the League One Playoffs.
The 2007/2008 season, the club’s first outside the top 2 tiers of English football has been perhaps the most controversial season in the club’s history. The well documented administration saga and resultant 15 points deduction at the beginning of the season has been at the forefront of the news headlines this week, with the club having their case heard by the Court of Arbitration. At time of writing, no decision has been made public, with the verdict expected on Monday, rather than the scheduled Friday.
Gary McAllister has continually tried to keep the players focused on on-field matters and on Saturday they will face a side still not safe from the threat of relegation. Millwall occupy 17th position, 5 points clear of the relegation zone, and with a win on Saturday could be mathematically safe. Therefore, Leeds fans shouldn’t expect an easy game for the Whites.
Team News
Leeds go into battle without skipper Jonathan Douglas, who serves a 1 match ban after receiving 2 yellow cards in Tuesday’s ill-fated Yorkshire derby. Likely replacement will be David Prutton, a fan’s favourite and a player who has done little wrong to be on the bench recently. Prutton will either fit straight into Douglas’ centre midfield position or occupy the right midfield berth with Neil Kilkenny moving into the centre.
Gary McAllister also hopes to welcome back the club’s top scorer Jermaine Beckford who limped off last 
Saturday against Carlisle and missed Tuesday night’s game. Beckford will renew his fruitful partnership with Dougie Freedman, at the expense of Tresor Kandol. On loan left back Alan Sheehan also returns to the first team squad having served a 2 match ban.
Millwall have been plagued with injuries this season and go into Saturday’s game without their two main strikers: Gary Alexander and Lewis Grabban. Without these two the club have struggled to find goals.
Recent Form
Leeds have been one of the inform teams in recent weeks, suffering only 2 defeats in their last 10, accumulating 20 points in this period to re-ignite promotion hopes. Millwall on the other hand have only won 1 of their last 6 games, the win coming last Saturday away to Hartlepool 1-0.
Reverse Fixture
The two sides met at Elland Road last October in front of a 30,000+ crowd. Leeds came out 4-2 winners under then former Millwall boss Dennis Wise. The United scorers that day were Prutton, Beckford and a rare 2 goal salvo from Jonathan Douglas. Hoskins and Brkovic bagged the 2 Millwall goals. A bounce back win for Leeds at the New Den could have several permutations: a win and other favourable results could see Leeds guaranteed a playoff spot.
A win at worst will leave the club 4 points clear with 2 games to go. Defeat will create a nervous finish to the 46 game campaign. The other important fixture the club face against the Football League could yet yield the chance of automatic promotion, remote as it may seem.
Marching On Together
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