Aidy to sustain Whites torment
Leeds v Colchester
Leeds will be looking to rediscover their league form when they welcome fellow high-flyers Colchester to Elland Road on Saturday.
The Whites – who will host Tottenham in an FA Cup fourth-round replay next Wednesday – have seen their knockout-competition exploits impinge their promotion assault.
Simon Grayson’s men have lost their last two third-tier encounters, at struggling Exeter in mid-January and at in-form Swindon this past Tuesday, and are only three points clear of third-placed Charlton, albeit with a game in hand.
The 3-0 reverse at the County Ground was Grayson’s heaviest defeat since taking charge of United 13 months ago.
But the ex-Blackpool chief is hopeful of strengthening his defence on Saturday by recalling centre-half Richard Naylor, the 32-year-old missing Tuesday’s match with a hamstring strain.
The Yorkshiremen – who are still chasing silverware in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy – could also rejig their attacking line-up, with Ivorian winger Max Gradel pressing for his first start since joining on a permanent basis from Championship play-off hopefuls Leicester.
Colchester – beaten 2-1 by Leeds in August – returned to winning ways in midweek with a 2-0 home success over MK Dons.
Aidy Boothroyd’s outfit – who had not tasted victory or scored in their opening three fixtures of 2010 – sealed the points with a pair of excellent finishes, firstly from Kevin Lisbie and then on-loan Leeds man David Prutton.
The latter lashed in a 25-yard screamer after 67 minutes, though under the terms of his switch from Elland Road, the former Nottingham Forest midfielder will be prohibited from facing the Whites on Saturday.
The U’s – who hope to sign Prutton a permanent basis in the near future – would move to within five points of their hosts if they can claim victory in Yorkshire, something the Essex side did last season when goals from the now-departed Dean Hammond and Mark Yeates secured a 2-1 win.
Boothroyd – Leeds’ first-team coach in 2004-05 – would love to get one over on his old employers, just as he did in the 2006 Championship play-off final when he managed Watford
And with the Whites going off the boil, the 38-year-old may just topple them again.
Verdict: Leeds 1-2 Colchester