BTTS In Tight Call At Elland Road

Local rivals Leeds United and Sheffield Wednesday clash on Saturday afternoon with both lying just outside the playoff places after ten Championship games.

Form
A scoreless draw with Reading at Elland Road on Wednesday on the back of a 2-0 defeat to Brentford last weekend has left new Leeds manager Darko Milanic still searching for a first win at the club.

The Slovenian must now be in no doubt as to the job he faces in getting the Yorkshire giants back to the Premier League, as Leeds’ erratic record of four wins and four losses from their opening ten Championship games shows, although they lie just four points off the playoff spots as it stands. Milanic’s appointment appears quite a strange one since academy boss Neil Redfearn had been unbeaten in his four games in charge prior to the Brentford game, and won three of those.

Senegal striker Souleymane Doukara tops the scoring charts for his new club with four goals, two of which came in the Capital One Cup.

Sheffield Wednesday brought an end to a two game losing streak when they were held to a 1-1 draw by an in-form Ipswich side at Hillsborough on Tuesday. An early header from Atdhe Nuhiu – a fifth goal of the season for the striker – put the hosts in front before Jonny Williams levelled matters for the Tractor Boys after half-time, although the Owls could consider themselves unlucky to come away with only a point after having two goals disallowed either side of half-time.

Wednesday had lost only once all season prior to their 7-0 thrashing by Manchester City in the Capital One Cup just over a week ago and lie just two points off the playoff spots going into the weekend’s games. They have conceded the joint fewest in the Championship to date but are averaging only a goal a game.

Team News
Gaetano Berardi is available once again for Leeds after the Swiss defender served a two-match suspension for a red card. With no new injuries reported after their midweek draw, Milanic has a full squad to select from.

Wednesday boss Stuart Gray could hand former Real Madrid and Everton winger Royston Drenthe a starting berth but Kamil Zayatte is expected to miss out after leaving the action inside the first half against Ipswich. Tom Lees, Sam Hutchinson and Kieran Lee could all be involved.

Head-to-Head
Wednesday destroyed their opponents when these sides last met in January as they put six goals past Leeds without reply at Hillsborough. It was a much tighter affair at Elland Road earlier in the campaign when it finished 1-1.

Both sides have won three of their eight Championship meetings over the past decade with each of them earning only one away win in that time.

Recommended Bets
There’s very little to choose between the sides in the Match Betting with Leeds at 9/5 for the win and Wednesday 13/8 to take the three points home with them, so it’s clearly anybody’s game here. In a local derby that’s likely to be hell for leather the 4/5 on both teams to score looks the standout bet here.

In the goalscorers market Wednesday striker Stevie May looks well-priced at 11/2 to score first or last and 13/8 for a goal at any time to celebrate his call up to the Scottish squad in style.