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Match: Leeds United v Nottingham Forest
Date: 27 October 2018
Time: 17.30 BST, 12.30 PM EDT, 13.30 ART
Venue: Elland Road
Television: Sky Sports Football in the UK/Ireland, SportsMax in the Caribbean, beIN Sports 2 in New Zealand & Australia, ESPN Sur in Argentina & South America, Viasport 2 in Norway, and TV3 Sport HD in Sweden
Streaming: LUTV in a number of different countries, ESPN+ in the United States, SportsMax App in the Caribbean, beIN Sports Connect in New Zealand & Australia, ESPN Play Sur in South America, Viaplay in Norway & Sweden, and Sky GO Extra in the UK/Ireland
Check livesoccertv for additional information.
All-time Record: Leeds United v Nottingham Forest: 31W 33D 33L
Previous Result: Leeds United 0-0 Nottingham Forest, 1 January 2018
The Nottingham Forest game at home last year was a frustrating match in which Leeds did everything but score as Forest was unable to keep Leeds at bay, but the ball somehow stayed out of the net. This is also the match where Luke Ayling was injured by former Leeds captain Liam Bridcutt, an injury that kept him out of pretty much the rest of last season.
This year’s edition of Nottingham Forest is much more successful than last year’s version under former Middlesbrough boss Aitor Karanka. The squad underwent a smaller version of a “Wolverhampton makeover” with a few Portuguese players coming in. Joao Carvalho and Diogo Goncalves came in from Benfica, Tobias Figueiredo came in from Sporting Clube de Portugal, and Saidy Janko came in from FC Porto.
They also acquired former Leeds right-back Sam Byram on loan from West Ham United, they also picked up Lewis Grabban from AFC Bournemouth, Jack Colback from Newcastle, and El Arbi Hillel Soudani from Dinamo Zagreb.
All the changes seem to be paying off, as Forest has only lost one match in their last nine, although they have had trouble turning draws into victories. Forest sit in 8th place in the table before the weekend’s action with 22 points from 14 matches, having lost only two matches, drawing seven and winning five.
| Marcelo: "Gaetano Berardi has an injury which isn't a simple one, and Barry Douglas will play on Monday with the U23s, and will then be available."
— Leeds United (@LUFC) October 26, 2018
This will be a tough test for Leeds, but if you want to get promotion, you’ll have to play the tough teams eventually. Leeds will be missing Barry Douglas and Gaetano Berardi through injury, although Pontus Jansson is back after missing out against Ipswich Town through suspension.
The return of Pablo Hernandez to full fitness and the starting lineup seemed to do wonders for the team in the midweek, although Leeds did have some issues converting chances. Hopefully the team will convert a few more today, as Forest is good enough to make a team rue missed chances, as they’ve scored 21 goals this season, only four less than Leeds.
Marcelo Bielsa isn’t one to fuss around too much with the starting lineups, so expect to see pretty much the same lineup as against Ipswich, with Jansson in the place of Berardi. Jack Clarke might make an appearance, and Tom Pearce might also get some time, depending on how the game is going.
This will be the late fixture this weekend, and its televised, so watching the match shouldn’t be too much of a problem for everyone. Here’s hoping that Forest doesn’t frustrated Leeds too much again this year and whatever else happens, can Ayling be protected? The team is crap when he’s out.