Preview: Leeds United vs. Watford - prediction, team news, lineups

The hosts currently sit ninth thanks to a five-match winless run, while their visitors are one point worse off in 14th spot and will look to leapfrog the Whites with an away win.

Match preview

Following their relegation from the Premier League last term, Leeds United set out to make an immediate return this time around and win promotion under the new management of Daniel Farke.

The Yorkshire outfit had to endure a slow start, managing just a single point from their opening two outings having come from behind late on to draw with Cardiff City before falling to a defeat away at Birmingham City, but they have since managed to put a five-match unbeaten run together in England's second tier, even if that did start with another disappointing point in a 1-1 draw at home to West Bromwich Albion.

Farke's men would then put their first victory on the board at the fourth time of asking, triumphing 4-3 in an eventful contest away at high-flying Ipswich Town as Georginio Rutter, Willy Gnonto and Joel Piroe all found the net inside 20 minutes and Luis Sinisterra extended their lead in the second half, before they headed into the recent international break on the back of an underwhelming stalemate at home to Sheffield Wednesday.

With all those efforts and improvements having resulted in just a single win in the first stretch of the term, Leeds would return from the break in style last weekend, travelling to the Den to meet Millwall and dishing out a 3-0 beating, courtesy of Piroe's brace and a Rutter goal, before they were once again held to a draw on Wednesday, as a trip to Hull City ended goalless, with the Whites battling for the final 30 minutes with 10 men after Joe Rodon's red card.

Now finding themselves ninth in the Championship, two points outside of the top six after seven games having only suffered a single defeat while also managing just two victories, Farke's side can take some positives from their foundations and will now focus on extending the unbeaten streak and putting a winning run together to establish themselves in the Championship's leading pack.

They meet a Watford side who are also aiming to be in the promotion race under new management this term, following the summer appointment of Valerian Ismaeil.

After a disappointing campaign last time around, in which they finished 11th in England's second tier, the Hornets began the new term in style with a 4-0 thrashing of Queens Park Rangers, but a subsequent stalemate with Plymouth Argyle was then followed by their only two league defeats of the campaign thus far, falling to 1-0 defeats at the hands of Stoke City and Blackburn Rovers.

That left them on a tally of four points from their opening four outings, and the Hertfordshire outfit then headed into the recent international break on the back of a dramatic 3-3 draw away at fellow promotion-hopefuls Coventry City, having gone ahead on three separate occasions through a Mileta Rajovic brace and Matheus Martins's goal, only to be pegged back each time with the final equaliser coming in the 87th minute.

Left disappointed by that draw, given the late leveller they conceded, Watford returned to action after the break at home to Birmingham City on Saturday, and after the contest looked set to end goalless, they eventually came out with all three points from a 2-0 win, thanks to injury-time goals from Rajovic and Ryan Andrews, before Ismael's men most recently hosted West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday and split the points in a 2-2 draw, having initially gone ahead through Tom Ince before Martins levelled the scores at two apiece in the 23rd minute.

Now with momentum starting to build at Vicarage Road, Warford will seek to put a winning run together in the coming weeks to put themselves at the top end of the division, starting with what would be a major scalp at Elland Road.

Leeds United Championship form:

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Leeds United form (all competitions):

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Watford Championship form:

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Team News

Leeds United head into Saturday's game without defender Joe Rodon, who has played an important role since joining on loan from Tottenham Hotspur over the summer, as he will serve a suspension for his red card in the Hull game, although captain Liam Cooper did return to contention for Wednesday's outing, featuring off the bench in the second half, and could retake his place alongside Pascal Struijk in the middle of the back four from the outset in the absence of the Welsh international.

That leaves just Junior Firpo, Stuart Dallas and Patrick Bamford as the Whites' only ongoing enforced absentees, and Jamie Shackleton and Sam Byram will battle to start at left-back in Firpo's place, while Ethan Ampadu and Archie Gray are bound to continue their centre-back partnership.

Competition is rife in attack in Farke's 4-2-3-1, and Georginio Rutter and Joel Piroe are set to play through the middle, with the latter having already netted three league goals in four appearances since his switch from Swansea City, while Willy Gnonto, Crysencio Summerville, Daniel James, Jaidon Anthony and Joe Gelhardt are all fighting to feature out wide.

Watford will likely remain without new forward Rhys Healey, who is yet to feature in the Championship for the Hornets following his summer arrival from Toulouse, although they were boosted by the return of Vakoun Issouf Bayo, who is in contention to start in attack, having featured off the bench in midweek after a short layoff of his own.

He faces stiff competition for a place in the front three, though, with Tom Ince and Matheus Martins both likely to keep their spots on the wings after scoring against West Brom in midweek, seeing Martins move onto three league goals for the campaign, while summer signing Mileta Rajovic is bound to lead the line again, having managed three Championship goals of his own in just four appearances following his switch from Kalmar.

Elsewhere, defender Francisco Sierralta could again operate in a new role at the base of midfield, likely joined by Ismael Kone and Imran Louza, as long as defender Ryan Porteous is fit to join Wesley Hoedt at the heart of the back four, having been withdrawn in the second half of Wednesday's match after picking up a knock..

Leeds United possible starting lineup:

Meslier; Ayling, Cooper, Struijk, Shackleton; Gray, Ampadu; Summerville, Piroe, Gnonto; Rutter

Watford possible starting lineup:

Bachmann; Ngakia, Porteous, Hoedt, Morris; Louza, Sierralta, Kone; Ince, Rajovic, Martins

We say: Leeds United 2-1 Watford

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