One of the standout fixtures in the Championship this weekend comes when Leeds United play host to Sheffield United at Elland Road on Friday night in a hugely important Yorkshire derby.
Both clubs are well and truly in promotion race in the early stages of the season, with Thomas Christiansen’s men lying in fourth position in the standings.
The Whites were top of the table earlier in the campaign but four defeats in five matches saw them drop, before they picked up a vital 3-0 victory against fellow high-flyers Bristol City at Ashton Gate last Saturday.
They come up against a Blades side who are one place and four points above them in third, having won nine of their 13 league games this term.
The two sides will both know that they have the players that can make the difference on the night, and they will be looking to those individuals to make an impact in this crucial clash.
Here are four key on-pitch battles that will decide the derby between Leeds and Sheffield United…
Samu Saiz vs Paul Coutts
Leeds would have been hopeful that Saiz could hit the ground running when they signed him from La Liga 2 side SD Huesca during the summer, and that has certainly been the case.
The 26-year-old attacking midfielder has already scored eight goals and provided a further two assists in 13 appearances in all competitions for the Yorkshire outfit this season, and a brace against Bristol City last time out helped Thomas Christiansen’s men get back to winning ways.
The man tasked with preventing Saiz being a threat on Friday night will be Coutts, who has only missed one of his team’s Championship games this term – because of suspension.
Liam Cooper vs Billy Sharp
After scoring 30 goals to lead Sheffield United back to the Championship last season, the Blades would have been relying on Sharp to get the goals for them this season too.
The United captain certainly hasn’t let the club down either, and the 31-year-old has scored five goals in nine league games and he will be their main goal threat at Elland Road on Friday when he returns to face his former club.
The striker will come up against Leeds captain Cooper, who looks to have potentially established himself as the Yorkshire outfit’s first-choice centre-back this term despite getting sent off in first-half of the defeat to Cardiff City last month.
Pierre-Michel Lasogga vs Jack O’Connell
Following the departure of Chris Wood to Burnley in August, Thomas Christiansen would have been well aware that he needed to bring in a new striker that was able to score regularly as this level and he did that by bringing in Lasogga on loan from Hamburg.
The 25-year-old has already scored four goals and provided a further four assists in seven Championship appearances, and he will be Leeds’ main goal threat when Sheffield United visit Elland Road.
The man tasked with dealing with the tall German centre-forward will be O’Connell, who has been a key player in the Blades’ backline following a move from Brentford in 2016.
Matthew Pennington vs Leon Clarke
There would certainly have been a few raised eyebrows when Sheffield United signed Clarke from Bury in the summer of 2016, especially after he scored just one goal in his first 17 League One appearances for the club.
However, the 32-year-old netted six times in the Blades’ last six matches of their promotion-winning campaign and he has brought that form into the new season, where he has scored four times and provided two assists in 10 Championship games.
The experienced frontman is likely to come up against Pennington on Friday, with the Everton loanee looking to be above Pontus Jansson in the centre-back pecking order currently despite missing most of the campaign so far with an ankle injury he suffered on the opening day.
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