please log in to view this image Ipswich Town v Leeds United please log in to view this image Saturday August 24th, 2013 - K.O 15:00 - Portman Road please log in to view this image One the road again, more specifically Portman Road, as this Saturday see's Leeds travel to Suffolk to face the Tractor Boys. The last time these sides met at Portman Road Warnock gave us the wonderful mantra of "Blame Tom Lees" following his sending off, and the hosts came away with a 3-0 victory. Over the last 5 years the meeting has definitely favoured the side playing in front of their own support. History would suggest then that it will be Ipswich's day - but with their only victory so far this season coming against Millwall, Mick McCarthy's men have it all to prove on the field. Both sides have had tough starts to the season with Leeds facing 2 of the play off contenders from last season, and Ipswich facing two of the relegated sides. While Ipswich's main difficulty has been keeping the goals out Leeds have struggled to create the chances so far in the season, so if one team can kick into gear and correct their difficulties the 3 points are there for the taking in this one. Last week Leeds mustered a 1-1 draw against an uninspiring Sheffield Wednesday side, with the Whites failing to get going until after Ross McCormack's beautifully crafted equaliser. It was too little too late though and even with sustained pressure in the Wednesday half Leeds failed to score a winner. McDermott will surely have been focusing on the attacking phases of play as the defence has looked more solid than last season in every area except set pieces. By all accounts Ipswich acquitted themselves well against what is a strong QPR side, succumbing to a 1-0 defeat. Like Leeds, they struggled to find that attacking spark but the moments of defensive frailty on show suggested the scoreline may have been a little flattering on McCarthy's men. Form Guide (Last 5 Games) [TABLE="width: 500, align: center"] [TR] [TD]Team[/TD] [TD]Form[/TD] [TD="align: center"]F[/TD] [TD="align: center"]A[/TD] [TD="align: center"]Pts[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Leeds United[/TD] [TD]W - W - W - D - X[/TD] [TD="align: center"]9[/TD] [TD="align: center"]3[/TD] [TD="align: center"]9[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Ipswich Town[/TD] [TD]X - L - L - W - L[/TD] [TD="align: center"]7[/TD] [TD="align: center"]8[/TD] [TD="align: center"]4[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Head to Head (Previous League Games) [TABLE="width: 500, align: center"] [TR] [TD="align: center"]Team[/TD] [TD="align: center"]P[/TD] [TD="align: center"]W[/TD] [TD="align: center"]D[/TD] [TD="align: center"]L[/TD] [TD="align: center"]F[/TD] [TD="align: center"]A[/TD] [TD="align: center"]GD[/TD] [TD="align: center"]Pts[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Leeds[/TD] [TD="align: center"]62[/TD] [TD="align: center"]27[/TD] [TD="align: center"]16[/TD] [TD="align: center"]19[/TD] [TD="align: center"]111[/TD] [TD="align: center"]78[/TD] [TD="align: center"]+33[/TD] [TD="align: center"]97[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]Ipswich[/TD] [TD="align: center"]62[/TD] [TD="align: center"]19[/TD] [TD="align: center"]16[/TD] [TD="align: center"]27[/TD] [TD="align: center"]78[/TD] [TD="align: center"]111[/TD] [TD="align: center"]-33[/TD] [TD="align: center"]73[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Early Betting Odds (Correct on 22/8/13) [TABLE="width: 500, align: center"] [TR] [TD]Ipswich Win[/TD] [TD]Draw[/TD] [TD]Leeds Win[/TD] [/TR] [TR] [TD]6/4[/TD] [TD]12/5[/TD] [TD]17/10[/TD] [/TR] [/TABLE] ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Team News Leeds United Leeds fans are anxiously awaiting more news on just how long Sam Byram will continue to be out, but the young full back is the only player unavailable to Brian McDermott. New CB Scott Wooton is fully registered for the team now, picking up the number 22 shirt and so he could play a part in the weekends fixture depending on his fitness levels. Rudy Austin and Luke Murphy seem to be cementing a relationship in the centre of the park so they could be the first choice here. Dominic Poleon had moments of brilliance but also moments of naivety in his first league start this season, so Hunt may well be restored to the starting lineup at his expense. Ones to Watch Ross McCormack - still a Leeds player and hopefully that isn't changing any time soon, he is our main creative outlet on the field at the moment. Luke Murphy - the raw talent is there for all to see, and as he gets more games at this level under his belt he will only keep improving. Noel Hunt - his contribution might not always have an obvious impact, but intelligent movement off the ball could expose the weaknesses in Ipswich's back line. Ipswich Town Mick McCarthy added to his squad at the start of the week, bringing in former Crawley winger Jordan Adekunle. The teenage winger had been training with the Tractor Boys since leaving Crawley and has done enough to convince the boss to sign him up. Cole Skuse joined Ipswich over summer and has made a big impression on the fans already, however the center mid picked up a knock last week against QPR, though Ipswich are hoping he will be fully recovered for this fixture. Other than that McCarthy will hope to have his pick of the rest of the squad for this game. Ones to Watch David McGoldrick - Signed after a loan spell last season, McGoldrick is a lively striker and looked to be Ipswich's main threat in last weekends game. Luke Hyam - The Ipswich Academy graduate has just signed a 3 year extension deal and has looked strong in the wide position so far. Jay Tabb - An experienced midfielder who McDermott knows well, he isn't a stranger to chipping in with a goal or two often credited for the workmanlike shifts he puts in in the middle of the park. Durham's Prediction This is a tough battle between heart and head for me calling it. Heart says we'll nick it 2-1, head says 1-1 draw. I'm pretty sure we'll concede one, and then it just depends how long it takes our attack to kick into gear. If we start well then there's no reason we will drop points here. But, if we start like we did against Wednesday and leave it 60 minutes to get going, we will struggle. I think anyone who has been scouting our last couple of games will put a heavy focus on trying to mark McCormack out of the game, so I'd definitely pick Varney and Hunt to start alongside him to give the defenders something else to think about. My line up: please log in to view this image I've finally given in and decided to give my take on the diamond as it seems we're stuck with it for now. Basically the same team that started against Wednesday, though I'd prefer Tonge over Green and Hunt over Poleon. Tonge might not have the legs he used to but I think he offers us more than Green at the minute. Green has been poor in the last couple of games, he runs his heart out, but he also gives away possession far too easily as well. I was crying out for Poleon to be given a start, and he was last Saturday. While he had some moments of brilliance, and had that pace that we so badly lack at the minute, he made some very bad decisions as well. He just needs to mature and work on his "footballing brain" a bit to become a starter. Certainly a fantastic impact sub though. I'd bring Hunt in because he's great off the ball and he brings far more to the table than Smith does in my opinion. Again Smith can be used to change tact part way through the game, but I just don't see him as a starting option. I gave some serious thought to Wooton in at CB and maybe moving Lees to RB, but I think the first we'll see of Wooton will be against Doncaster midweek. Possible Audio Links for Saturday: BBC Radio Leeds FM Coverage (whitenoisefc on ustream) & ustream leeds are two pretty reliable options. Alright, over to you guys. Are we going to get our first away win of the season? Will Wooton feature?
Tough one to call, Big Mick is renown for getting his defences in order that do not give a great deal away, will be happy with a draw, anything above this is a bonus, as not many teams will take a lot away from Portman Rd this season. IMO
Not a happy hunting ground for Leeds in recent years, plus we always seem to have a player sent off, Alex Bruce (when played out of position at RB), White (unjustly, changing the course of the game when we were controlling it) and Lees last season. A draw would be decent, 1-1
This might be the game we have a clean sheet. 0-1 Leeds, we will nick it and everyone will agree a draw would have been the fair result - but we'll have the 3 points
Good thread this Couple of minor points, We consider our biggest asset our defence and Mick has worked wonders given how woefully inept we were for the 1st half of last season, that strength is however emphasized by our lack of cutting edge going forward. We won a lot of matches 1-0 under Mick (tail end of last season) and we have been strong there already this season. Reading & QPR away won't be happy hunting grounds for many (especially both together) Since Mick has been here we have been very strong (if a bit uninspiring) at home record so I fancy us to atleast gain a point from the weekend. We have 2 decent young full backs who tend to get forward well and if Hyam (who plays central midfield btw) can add a bit of a goal threat to his game then I fancy we'll have a decent side as Mick has built us from the back going forward so if we are able to take the game to teams more often we would be hard to contend with. My pick will be a 2-0 win to Ipswich (naturally ) although a fairly even game with not much in it. Out of interest how many of your lot are making the journey down do you know?
Cheers fella RE: defence, I was just going on a couple of reports that I'd read that said there were a few scary moments in the first few games (we Leeds fans can relate to that!) - well aware that Mick would be sorting that out though, and yeah QPR and Reading away is as good a test as most defences will get this year . Should be a good game though and it could be won by whichever attack gets going!
Another good thread Durham, I remember in the Bobby Robsons era there that it they were never an easy side to play. Another long 90 mins on the cards. A 1,1 for me..
Only received 2,100 allocation, which has sold out, so expect a lot of away fans in the home section £37 a ticket Edit: there's a few tickets left in the family enclosure as of Thursday
Great thread. Our performance will have to improve dramatically from our last two games. Also worried Ross May be distracted if he's still with us by then with all the attention he's been getting from boro. If were as bad as the last two games, we will lose I think. However, I'm stil hopeful we are better than that. If so, we may nick a point
I hope you're wrong about Ross, Eire, but it has to be playing on his mind at least a bit. I guess the best news would be him signing a new contract today to clear it all up (at least in a way that favours us) and he plays like a beast on Saturday.
Morning lads! For those who may not know,there looks like that there could well be a live stream for tomorrow's match! http://www.wiziwig.tv/broadcast.php?matchid=216615&part=sports
Morning all. Another fine thread. On the face of it, a hard game where a 1-1 draw would be seen as a good result. However, I think Ross will want to put this move to 'Boro or anywhere else firmly to bed by scoring twice in a 2-0 win.
I'm really hoping for a win after the disappointment last weekend, reckon the lads will be fired up after that to put it right. I don't see Ipswich being that good this season to be honest (sorry to the Ippy fans reading the thread) so think a draw would be a pretty average result. I'm gonna go with a 3-1 win with Ross scoring a couple to keep his good start going.
That's the positive thinking I like...although being Leeds United we could lose 2.1 and Ross could have joined Boro ...
This could be a duller 0-0 than Leicester. Waiting for new car old one won't get there so off to the Ebor at York if it fairs up instead.
