After suffering back to back Championship defeats at the hands of Huddersfield and Cardiff City, Leeds United bounced back with a victory on Tuesday night against Bristol and would hope to record another vital victory on Saturday when they visit Portman Road to square off with Ipswich Town.
Garry Monk’s men are currently 5th in the league table after 32 league games and would have to avoid defeat during the weekend in order to hold on to their playoff spot as they continue to seek Premier League promotion.
Having won the reverse fixture via a Chris Wood strike last year, the visitors would be hoping to record a valuable win away at Portman Road for the first time since the 2001-02 Premier League campaign, with their 6 other visits to the ground all resulting in losses.
Monk has got a strong squad ready, and here is how he could probably line up his starting XI for the clash on Saturday evening.
Team News:
Garry Monk welcomes back Liam Bridcutt back into the squad after the Leeds captain served a one-match suspension and missed Leeds’ 2-1 victory against Bristol. Charlie Taylor remains the only absentee for Leeds, who is still recovering from an Achilles injury.
Formation : 4-2-3-1
GK – Green
Leeds’ number 1 goalkeeper concedes an average of 1 goal per game, and against a side that scores the same number of goals per game, there is a 50-50 chance of the hosts getting a goal and so much more should be expected from the other end if they are to win.
RB – Ayling
The right-back should also be making his 32nd start but is walking a disciplinary tightrope having been booked 9 times this term already, and one more yellow card will automatically rule him out of the next clash against Sheffield Wednesday.
CB – Jansson
Has proven himself as arguably the best centre-half in the Championship, and would be expected to help shut the hosts out and more importantly, complete the game without adding to his 11 yellow cards.
CB – Bartley
Continues to provide steel for Leeds defence and contributes with occasional goals as well.
His 32nd league start awaits on Saturday.
LB – Berardi
Charlie Taylor is said to be close to making a return from the Achilles injury that has ruled him out of action since December last year, but he remains out for the trip to Portman Road and the Swiss defender would continue in the left-back role.
CM – O’Kane
Has been a great defensive cover for the Leeds defence and would likely be getting another start on Saturday.
CM – Bridcutt
The skipper is available for selection after serving a one-match suspension following his red card against Cardiff and is likely to start ahead of Vieira.
AML – Dallas
The English winger has been preferred in the lineup ahead of Doukara recently and that could continue against Ipswich as well.
AMC – Hernández
The Spaniard scored and assisted in a man-of-the-match display in the 2-1 victory against Bristol City during the week and would hope to continue his fine form on Saturday.
AMR – Sacko
Has returned to the lineup permanently since attaining full fitness after an injury and should be getting another chance to impress, as his loan term nears an end.
CF – Wood
Bagged his 19th Championship goal of the season on Tuesday and is expected to continue his brilliant goalscoring form on Saturday.
Here’s how it looks.