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By @Joe_Potter4
Three wins and one draw is a start that most Leeds fans will be absolutely delighted with. Reaping revenge on Wigan and Brentford was just as satisfying as we all thought it would be. But now we've got to repeat that in a tough away fixture at Stoke City, which is no mean feat.
Realistically, it shouldn't be that surprising, but unfortunately the injuries have already started rolling in. Barry Douglas is already confirmed to be out, and Liam Cooper and Stuart Dallas are both carrying injuries, but are still possibilities to start. Hopefully they'll be good to play because Cooper and Dallas have been two of our most solid players in our opening four league games.
Stoke is always a tough place to go, they can always create decent and hostile atmospheres, they've got a good, experienced squad on paper, and realistically, Stoke are a big team for this division. Last time out, Stoke lost 3-1 at Preston. So far for Nathan Jones this season he hasn't managed to get them ticking, sitting at bottom of the table with one point from four games.
Like I said, Stoke have a wealth of experience across the entire pitch, however some of their players are well past their best. Joe Allen probably doesn't have the legs he had when he was at Swansea and Liverpool, could Klich and Forshaw over-run him? Will the pace of Harrison and Costa and Nketiah, off the bench, be too much for a defense containing Danny Batth? You would like to think so. Players like Tom Ince and Jack Butland should be well within the peak, or at least entering into the peak of their careers now. But they're not. This may be a good time to play Stoke, they seem pretty vulnerable at the moment, confidence will be on the floor, the pressure of getting their first win is mounting (especially at home). All we need to do is show up and do our stuff.
If we defend resolutely, like we did against Wigan and Brentford, keep up the high-energy in midfield from Klich and Forshaw, keep players like Tom Ince, Sam Clucas and Scott Hogan quiet, we are well within our rights to put Stoke to the sword. As long as we keep the ball and maintain a good level of possession, which we usually do, then we will create plenty of chances, down the middle, out-wide, as long as we keep up that clinical nature that we had against Wigan, against Bristol City, then I'm confident we can get three points from this game.
Prediction: 1 - 0 Leeds. Bamford.
MOT