With the race to the Premier League hotting up, Marcelo Bielsa’s men face a tough test against in-form opponents
Second in the Championship table, Leeds United aim to take a step closer to a long-awaited return to the Premier League by overcoming Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side beat Preston 2-0 on Tuesday with a couple of goals from Patrick Bamford in the closing 30 minutes. Their form, however, has been erratic with two defeats in their last four outings.
Sheffield Wednesday’s hopes of finishing in the playoffs are hanging by a thread, though they showed in midweek by winning 3-0 against Nottingham Forest that they remain a dangerous opponent. With five matches of the season remaining, they likely need to win them all to stand a chance of sneaking into the top six – and even that may not be enough.
| Game | Leeds vs Sheffield Wednesday |
| Date | Saturday, April 13 |
| Time | 5:30pm BST / 12:30pm EST |
In the United States (US), the game can be streamed via ESPN+.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| N/A | ESPN+ |
In the UK, the game will be shown on Sky Sports Football and Main Event and can be streamed through the Sky Go app.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Sky Sports Football / Sky Sports Main Event | Sky Go |
| Position | Leeds players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Casilla, Peacock-Farrell, Huffer |
| Defenders | Ayling, Cooper, Jansson, Davis, Berardi, Halme |
| Midfielders | Philips, Forshaw, Klich, Shackleton, Dallas, Alioski |
| Forwards | Roofe, Roberts, Saiz, Bamford, Clarke, Harrison, Hernandez, Brown |
Confirmed Leeds starting XI: Casilla, Alioski, Cooper, Jansson, Ayling, Phillips, Klich, Roberts, Harrison, Hernandez, Bamford
| Position | Sheffield Wednesday players |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Westwood, Dawson, Wildsmith |
| Defenders | Lees, Hector, Van Aken, Baker, O’Grady, Fisker Nielson, Pudil, Lazaar, Fox, Thorniley, Penney, Iorfa, Palmer |
| Midfielders | Kirby, Hutchison, Pelupessy, Lee, Bannan, Abdi, Jones, Boyd, Reach, Onomah |
| Forwards | Preston, Aarons, Matais, Forestieri, Hooper, Fletcher, Joao, Winnall, Nuhiu, Stobbs |
Confirm Sheffield Wednesday starting XI: Westwood, Palmer, Fox, Fletcher, Bannan, Hooper, Lees, Reach, Boyd, Hutchinson, Hector
Leeds can be backed at 8/15 to win this match with Bet365. Meanwhile, a draw is priced at 3/1. Sheffield Wednesday’s price to cause an upset is 11/2.
Click here to see more offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.
Leeds leapfrogged Sheffield United into second position in the Championship on Tuesday and the target is now to hold that spot for the final three matches of the campaign.
It has been 15 years since Leeds were relegated from the top flight and they are now within touching distance of a return.
With Norwich six points clear in first place and just five games to play, any hopes of the title have surely gone, but the critical aspect for the Elland Road club is to finish in the top two and thereby achieve automatic promotion.
“For us we have to win the five games left,” boss Marcelo Bielsa affirmed.
“When you have less points to win because you are in the last games of the league, the gap or space for mistakes is reduced.
“It is no good to make any analysis until this objective is complete, the only important thing is if we get promotion.
“We play with the obligation to win promotion, not to make the best season.”
Sheffield Wednesday, meanwhile, promise to be stern opponents. Since Steve Bruce took charge of the Owls in February, they have suffered only one defeat in 13 matches, and while they have drawn six of these, they have kept an impressive seven clean sheets.
A veteran of the English scene, the former Manchester United centre-back is impressed with how Bielsa has adapted to the rigours of the Championship.
“He has been very good in what he has done,” he said. “We’re all intrigued by him, he’s a bit different and a bit of a breath of fresh air that we all look at and think: ‘Wow, that’s different’.
“He’s done a smashing job and we’re all intrigued by his methods and the way he has done it. His pedigree goes before him.
“From day one there’s been a positive attitude from them and his team reflects his intensity.
“For me we’re always intrigued and when you get the plaudits of top managers like Mauricio Pochettino and Pep Guardiola then you have to take a bit of notice of this guy.
“He’s certainly a little bit different, even the way he sits on an ice bucket or whatever he sits on. We’re all intrigued by that eccentric side to his nature.”
Bruce will get his first close-up view of the Argentine at Elland Road, having been appointed after the clubs drew 1-1 at Hillsborough in September.
This time around, a repeat of that outcome would be a result to suit neither side.
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