LEEDS v BRISTOL CITY
Saturday 17th September 2011 – Kickoff: 15:00hrs
Leeds United take on Bristol City at Elland Road on Saturday afternoon as the Yorkshire side look to gain back-to-back wins for the first time this season after their tense 3-2 victory over Crystal Palace last weekend.
When you look at their home record they’ve lost just one in their last nineteen which was a 0-1 reverse to Middlesbrough a few weeks ago. They currently sit mid-table and a win here today could take them to the edges of the play-off positions. However, Simon Grayson’s men are perhaps a bit fragile in these early weeks of this new season so approach a home win for Leeds with caution.
There are no doubts about their attacking prowess, and even with the likes of Jermaine Beckford and more recently, striker Max Gradel (to St Etienne) departing, experienced striker Mikael Forssell has joined the Elland road ranks, while Luciano Becchio should also figure at some stage. Former Wolves forward Andrew Keogh is also useful and his motivation will be to cement his place in the starting line-up.
Leading scorer is Ross McCormack (5 goals, 2 assists), and the ever-consistent Robert Snodgrass (1 goal, 3 assists) will always provide that killer ball, so Leeds continue to be in safe hands up front I feel. Their home record stands at 2-0-1 7/4.
Their Achilles heel seems to be at the back though, and will often concede soft goals from almost out of nothing. They have won their last two head-to-heads (2-0 away and 3-1 at home), but I am still not confident of a straight win.
Visitors Bristol City upset the early formbook when they beat Leicester City 2-1 last month, and do possess that knack of upsetting seemingly straight-forward home wins from time to time. Their other two matches on the road so far ended in a 1-3 loss at Cardiff City and a 1-1 draw at Doncaster Rovers.
Therefore, their away record stands at 1-1-1 4/5, and manager Keith Millen will be keen for his team to improve their away record from last season which finished up at 7-5-11 32/36 which placed them in an ordinary mid-table position.
Reliable forward Nicky Maynard (3 goals) who seems to have been around for a long time but is still only 24, will always possess a threat to opposition defences. Midfielders Albert Adomah, Neil Kilkenny, Marvin Elliott and Jamal Campbell-Ryce can all create chances, while strikers Brett Pitman and Jon Stead are lining up for starts following their 0-1 loss at home to Brighton last Saturday.
To summarise, I’m not 100% confident that Leeds will win this one, but I am more confident in taking the Over 2.5 goals option as Leeds are more than capable of scoring 2 goals while also confident that they’ll concede as well – hence a possible scoreline of 2-1 to Leeds United.
Pick: Over 2.5 @ 1.75 Betfair
