Leeds United (H) Preview

A look ahead to Tuesday evening's clash at the Reebok Stadium

Bolton Wanderers v Leeds United
npower Championship
Tuesday 2 October, 2012
Kick-Off 8pm

Setting The Scene 
Bolton have the opportunity to return to winning ways on Tuesday evening, welcoming Leeds United to the Reebok for the first time in over eight years.

This will be the first meeting between the clubs since the 2003/04 season – the previous being a 4-1 win over the Yorkshiremen which was Leeds’ penultimate away match when they last played in the top-flight.

Kevin Davies led the Bolton line that afternoon and having made his 700th senior career appearance on Saturday versus Palace, the skipper says that the players are 'aware they need to do better’ following the 1-0 reverse against the Eagles.

Davies is set to line-up against former team-mate El-Hadji Diouf who spent four years as a Wanderer between 2004 and 2008. Now aged 31, the Senegalese forward is currently enjoying a good run of form having struck a brace in the 3-2 over Bristol City at the weekend.

As for the two managers, the last time Owen Coyle locked horns with Neil Warnock was on the opening day of last season when Wanderers triumphed 4-0 against Queens Park Rangers.

After leaving Loftus Road, the 63-year-old took up the reins at Elland Road in April. In the final months of last season, he presided over a 14th-placed finish in the Championship, prior to getting to grips with his new-look squad during the summer months.

Luke Varney, Rodolph Austin, Adam Drury, Paddy Kenny and Jason Pearce arrived through the entrance door, and all are expected to feature in some capacity on Tuesday night.

Three points for Wanderers should be enough to move the club back into the top-half of the table, dependent on results elsewhere around the country in the Championship.

Team News
Whites boss Coyle confirmed at his pre-match press conference on Monday morning that Marcos Alonso will definitely miss Tuesday’s clash after failing to recover from a knock sustained at Sheffield Wednesday.

On a more positive note, Benik Afobe is set to come back into contention having sat out of Saturday’s defeat against Crystal Palace with a groin injury. The on-loan Arsenal man trained with his team-mates on Sunday and Monday.

As for Leeds, Ross McCormack and Paul Green are long-term injury victims. David Norris could feature against his former club, while Michael Brown is set to continue in central midfield.

One To Watch - Luciano Becchio 
Since his arrival from Spanish side Merida in the summer of 2008, striker Luciano Becchio has become a fans’ favourite at Elland Road.

The Argentine bagged 16 league goals in his first full season with the club and has been prolific ever since, netting 17, 20 and 11 goals in the previous three campaigns respectively.

The 28-year-old is in fine form once again this season and prior to the weekend, the 6ft 2in tall striker had scored seven goals in all competitions so far this season.

All-Time Record

Bolton WinsDrawsLeeds Wins
League201018
FA Cup222
League Cup001
Total221221

Man In The Middle - Phil Dowd
A Premier League official will take charge of Tuesday’s encounter. Staffordshire-based Dowd has so far overseen five matches this season, the last being Aston Villa’s 4-2 Capital One Cup win over Manchester City last week.

Dowd is currently averaging four yellow cards a game, although he has only flashed one red this season; sending-off Daniel Agger in Liverpool’s 3-0 opening day defeat at West Bromwich Albion. 

Fan Information
Tickets for the game are still available to purchase and can be bought from the comfort of your own home. For more information click here.

The Carling FanZone is also in operation, with doors in the Premier Suite set to open at 6pm.

The official matchday programme, priced at £3, features interviews with Andy Lonergan, Scott Green, Ricardo Gardner, Jeff Chandler and Eddie Gray. 

Read Time: 4 mins