Top of the table Leeds United host 19th place Stoke City as the Whites aim to maintain their lead above second place West Brom, who are only one point behind Leeds. 

Leeds managed an impressive 3-1 win away from home against Blackburn Rovers, as goals from Patrick Bamford, Kalvin Phillips and Mateusz Klitch earning the Whites three points. 

Three points bares a significance for Stoke too, as they currently sit only two points above the relegation zone.

Key Battles

Tyrese Campbell has been a shining light for the Potters this season - scoring 9 goals and assisting two so far in the Sky Bet Championship and is Stokes second top scorer this season. Two of those nine goals came in Stokes rampant 4-0 win at home against Barnsley, which included a slick back heel to beat Jack Walton.

Campbell can occupy any position along the front line, the forward has recently slotted in along the left hand side and will likely be matched up against Leeds' Luke Ayling. The versatile full-back is one of the first names on the Leeds team sheet and will be faced with quite a task when trying to contain Campbell.

Previous Meetings

During their previous five meetings, Stoke have won three encounters and lost two. Their most recent two encounters came within three days of each other back in August - as they faced each other in both the Championship and the Carabao Cup. 

The two sides drew 2-2 in regular time, with goals from Danny Batth and Sam Vokes putting the Potters ahead during the first 45 minutes. Leeds managed to drag themselves back into the game, with goals from the (then) on loan Eddie Niketah and Hélder Costa forcing the Whites to penalties. However, Jack Harrison missed the decisive penalty after Jack Butland scored what would be the winning penalty in the shootout.

Team News

Both sides have no recent injury updates and will head into the game with fully fit squads to choose from - a luxury for both managers as they enter crucial stages of the season, at both ends of the table.

Predicted Line-ups

Leeds XI: Meslier; Ayling, Cooper, White, Dallas; Phillips; Costa, Klich, Roberts, Harrison; Bamford (4-1-4-1). 

Stoke XI: Butland; Smith, Chester, Batth, Martins Indi; Cousins, Clucas; Campbell, Powell, Ince; Vokes (4-2-3-1).

Managers Thoughts

Marcelo Bielsa was full of praise during his pre-match press conference, hailing the impact which Michael O'Neill has had since joining Stoke:

“Stoke are a creative team, their players have clear technical resources.

“They respect a common idea of play, but it’s obvious they have a very good impact individually.

“The offensive players of Stoke is one of the more positive points of the opponent.

“The manager has enabled the players to show their characteristics and abilities."

O'Neill declared he had a fit squad, despite having one or two players with knocks, he's confident he'll have a strong squad to pick from on Thursday:

“We have no fresh injuries although we have one or two knocks and a few little concerns, but that’s natural given the regularity of games.

“The players are being pushed to their limits at the moment, and we are getting through four or five substitutes a game to try and give people recovery time.

“Saturday was nice in that respect as we were able to ease off a few by taking them off during the water break or shortly after that."