Leeds United v Ipswich Town, Championship: Preview and Probable Teams

Mick McCarthy takes Ipswich Town to Elland Road to face Leeds United, in a Championship fixture the visitors will want desperately to win, as the Tractor Boys look to stave off relegation from English football's second division. Leeds are 14th in the table, with 29 points from 21 games and Ipswich are 20th with 23 from as many fixtures.

Where to Watch

Kick-off is set for 3 pm GMT. Live radio commentary will be available on BBC Radio Suffolk.

Overview

Leeds started the season on a bright note, with a confident 4-0 home win over Shrewsbury Town in a Capital One Cup first round tie. Since then, however, they've had a bit of a stop-start season. Wins against Wolverhampton and Peterborough United were offset by defeats to Cardiff City and Hull City in the early part of the campaign.

Results became a tad bit worse in October, with only one win five games (a 1-0 home win against Barnsley). And successive defeats in November - 1-6 at home to Watford and 0-1 away to Millwall threatened to completely derail the season.

The good news, though, is the Whites responded by going on a three-match winning streak, starting with a confident-boosting 2-1 home win against second-placed Crystal Palace. Unfortunately, the club comes into this game on the back of a defeat - the winning streak was broken by defeat at Pride Park.

Ipswich too started with a win - a 3-1 defeat of Bristol Rovers in their cup game. that was swiftly followed by a horrid run of only one win in 14 games, stretching through to the away win at Birmingham City. The result proved to be a false dawn, with two defeats in the next three games (11 goals conceded).

The good news is the wins, at least, are more regular. The club has won three games on the trot and come into this fixture after a solid 3-0 home win against Millwall.

Team Guide

Leeds United

• Last Five (all competitions, most recent first): L W W W L
• Last Result: Derby County 3 - 1 Leeds United

Ipswich Town

• Last Five (all competitions, most recent first): W W W D L
• Last Result: Ipswich Town 3 - 0 Millwall

Team News

The hosts have no injury worries for this game. Indeed, they will actually be boosted by recovery of on-loan winger Jerome Thomas, who suffered a hamstring injury. The West Brom registered youngster will face a late test but is likely to start the game.

Probable Line-Up: Kenny; Peltier, Lees, Tate, Green; Tonge, Norris, Byram, Thomas; Becchio, McCormack

Ipswich will be without loanee striker Tyrone Barnett. The 27 year old has returned to Peterborough after a knee injury in last week's game against Milwall.

Probable Line-Up: Henderson; Cresswell, Chambers, Smith, Orr; Edwards, N'daw, Martin, Drury; Campbell, Murphy