We last met in November when Leeds won 1-0 at The King Power Stadium, has much changed for Leicester since then?

In terms of league position, almost nothing. Leicester are as inconsistent, frustrating, underwhelming and yet capable of some excellent performances too. It’s very difficult to know which Leicester will turn up from week to week.

You’ve had a similar season to ourselves – we both had big expectations but have both ended up with mid-table finishes. Where do you thing it has gone wrong for Leicester?

Everyone has there own theories, but Sacking Sven was a panic decision that set the tone for the rest of the season. It’s clear Nigel Pearson was not in the frame to replace Sven until long after the sacking was made. Their styles could not be more different and, as a result, Leicester fans have had to watch another season of transition as Pearson weeds out the players he dislikes and makes signings of his own. Unsurprisingly, this has not produced a miracle turnaround in our fortunes.

If he is picked, Saturday will be the first time Jermaine Beckford has played at Elland Road since he scored to get us promoted. How has he been this season for you?

It took him a long time to get going. He made 17 starts before he completed 90 minutes for the team and whilst his goal tally a first glance looks impressive, many have come in FA Cup ties rather than league fixtures. It’s fair to say Leicester haven’t got the best of him, and I wouldn’t be particularly surprised if he’s playing his football elsewhere next season, which for a player with his pedigree, would be a real shame.

Who else should we be looking out for in your team?

Ben Marshall will try at least once to cut in from the left hand side of the penalty area and curl one towards to opposite corner. He’s made a name for himself at leicester by scoring a series of long range efforts. With nothing in particular riding on the match he’ll have every incentive to add another to his collection.

If you could sign any current Leeds player for Leicester, who would it be?

Ross McCormack, please.

Finally, what’s your prediction for the game?

I’ll go for 2-2. Hopefully it’ll be Leicester grabbing a late equaliser, we could do with something to smile about, but I suppose Leeds fans feel exactly the same way too.

Statistics for Leeds United v Leicester City provided by Kick-Off. 

We last met on the opening day of the season when Southampton were 3-1 winners. Has much changed for you since then?

Not too much. We’ve recovered from our recent blip and now look as strong as we did at the start of the season. We still play the same exciting brand of football that you saw on the opening day, but we’ve since added more strength in depth to the squad. The likes of Jos Hooiveld, Danny Fox, Billy Sharp and Tadanari Lee give us different options that we didn’t have back then. Expectations are definitely greater now however. Most fans would have been happy with a top half finish at the beginning of season, but after such a superb start, many aren’t satisfied now unless we’re beating teams out of sight every week.

You’re currently sat at the top of the Championship table, are you confident Southampton will hold on and achieve back to back promotion to the Premier League?

Fairly confident yes. We’ve probably got the best run in out of all the promotion chasing sides. Apart from Reading, all our remaining home games are against teams towards the bottom. Our away form remains a slight concern however, although we should just about have enough to see out the season in the top two. We’ve always scored goals, but over the past few weeks we’ve also really tightened up defensively. Nigel Adkins’s team really peaked towards the end of last season, so I’m hoping the same will happen again this term. Only a huge spate of injuries can cost us now.

Do you think Leeds may have an outside chance of making the play-offs under Neil Warnock?

There’s always a chance with Leeds, although I wouldn’t bet on it. From what I’ve seen most of the teams above you at the moment are slightly better equipped. I think they’ll stand a much better chance next season once Warnock has a proper pre-season under his belt. There seems to have been too much turmoil at the club this season.

Who should we be looking out for in your side on Saturday?

Well the obvious names like Rickie Lambert and Adam Lallana (If fit) immediately come to mind. Lambert scores goals for fun, but his game is so much more than that. He brings others into play with great movement and link up play. Lallana is a bag of tricks, and can unlock any defence with his quick feet. You should also look out for our new Japanese signing Tadanari Lee, who has already made quite an impact. He possesses great technique and work rate, and already has a good on-pitch relationship with his strike partner Lambert. Cork and Schneiderlin probably won’t look particularly fancy in midfield, but do a vital job of keeping things ticking over. Schneiderlin in particular likes to set the tempo of the game in his role just in front of the back four.

If you could sign one current Leeds player for Southampton, who would it be?

I won’t pretend to be an expert on Leeds players, so I’m honestly not sure. Snodgrass has caught the eye a few times, and Becchio has looked impressive in the past against us, but we’re pretty well stocked for forward players so I probably wouldn’t sign either of them. Centre back is the only area we need strengthening, so maybe someone like O’Dea?

Finally, what’s your prediction for the game?

It’s a difficult one to call. We’ve been slightly disappointing on the road this season, but Leeds are also hit and miss at home. The smart money would be on the draw. I’ll say 1-1.

You’ve obviously got a lot of financial problems at the minute, something Leeds fans are no strangers to. What kind of effect do you think it has been having on the team?

The lads have stayed strong and all of the players met with the PFA yesterday and decided to tell the club to scrap their January wages, having played for free, whilst the majority will take a pay-cut till the rest of the season and delay their wages until the club come through these muddy and murky waters.

A lot of the players have stayed loyal as well, not getting their heads down, but obviously it is a horrible situation to be in so no-one would blame the players for feeling under the weather.

We last met in October when Leeds were 1-0 winners at Elland Road. Has much changed for Pompey since then?

There have been so many ups and downs. Obviously we’ve had a new manager since we last met – Steve Cotterill finally got the boot and was replaced by Michael Appleton who was rewarded with his first managerial appointment at Pompey. He’s been a breath of fresh air after taking charge of Pompey and is becoming one of us very quickly.

However on a worse note we’ve hit more financial difficulties after our owners, Convers Sports Initiatives, went in to administration, which meant a lot of our expenditure went unpaid and caused us to fall further in debt before going in to administration again. We’ve just had ten points deducted last Friday, and lost our top goalscorer, Erik Huseklepp this morning.

Where are you expecting to finish at the end of the season?

We’ll take 21st or above!

Who should we be looking out for in your side on Saturday?

Well it all depends who is left by Saturday. A number of our players are linked with emergency loan exits to free up our wage bill to help save the club, and the club’s financial troubles have gotten so bad we can’t afford treatment or scans for our injured soliders. However, Liam Lawrence could be on his game on Saturday and is definitely due a goal soon so watch out for our skipper. Also if his extended contract is to go through, Kelvin Etuhu could be dangerous – you may recognise him as the Man City midfielder who got put away in prison for assault – but we signed him on a free transfer in January.

If you could sign any current Leeds player for Pompey, who would it be?

We’d take any of your players at the moment to be honest. We’re in desperate need of players but we can’t afford anyone and we can’t afford to pay anyone. We’ll even take your kit man if he can last 90 minutes?

Finally, what’s your prediction for the game?

Really hoping for a Pompey win obviously, but with our administration troubles, we’re looming in the relegation zone following the points deduction so these points mean more to us than probably Leeds at the moment. Mind you a full attendance is probably a bit more crucial than the points!

We last met in October when Leeds won 3-0 at the Keepmoat. Has much changed for Doncaster since then?

A major change at the Keepmoat has been the departure of financial backers Dick Watson and Terry Bramall, thereby making finances apparently tighter than usual. However, this hasn’t stopped the influx of loanees and free agents as the Willie McKay influence continues unabated.

What was your reaction to the sale of Billy Sharp in January?

Billy Sharp’s departure seemed inevitable but was a huge blow nonetheless.His influence as a goalscorer and talisman for players and fans alike cannot be underestimated,hard to see boots that big being filled in the near future.

What have you made of recent events at Elland Road? I.e. Grayson’s sacking & the fan protests against the board.

I have a great deal of sympathy for the Leeds fans against Mr Bates, for a club with expectations of Premier League Football, it’s hard to see that being achieved by selling top players. Simon Grayson seemed undermined and the job under Bates is something of a poisoned chalice.

Who should we be looking out for in your side on Saturday?

At the moment, El Hadji-Diouf is providing the main threat in an often weak Rovers attack and I can see him stepping up his game in a big Elland Road atmosphere. Keeper David Button, on loan from Spurs, has impressed and one to watch in the future.

If you could sign any current Leeds player for Doncaster, who would it be?

Luciano Becchio is a player I’ve liked during his time at Leeds. Now we’ve lost Billy Sharp, he’s certainly the type of player Rovers could benefit from.

Finally, what’s your prediction for the game?

The next few games are make or break for Rovers relegation fight and we’ve reached the point where a struggling Leeds is a team we have to beat. However, we’re hardly setting the world on fire so I’m going for a useful yet ultimately unsatisfying point.1-1.

We last met in September when Leeds were 2-1 winners, has much changed for Bristol City since then?

Pretty much everything! Well OK, maybe a bit of an exaggeration but that Leeds defeat was actually one of the better performances in a dismal start to the season. Keith Millen was sacked after a particularly dispirited collapse at Blackpool where we lost 5-0 and eventually Derek McInnes was brought in with us six points adrift from safety.

An instant upturn in form has settled into a more steady improvement and we now sit six points the other side of the drop line, and looking as comfortable as a team can whilst still in the bottom section.

The whole club has a different atmosphere around it, transformed by McInnes’ appointment and positivity and we are a very different proposition at home now than we were. Having not won until November, we now have four wins from the last six in BS3 and look pretty solid.

Your top scorer, Nicky Maynard left for West Ham in the transfer window. Do you think this will have much of an impact on the rest of your season?

Yes, but largely in a positive way. Unfortunately things had turned sour for Maynard as his protracted contract situation showed no signs of resolving and, eventually, he was placed on the transfer list which led to a series of apparently less than committed performances. Booed when he came on by the travelling support at Reading last week, he had to go to end the circus around him.

We squeezed a transfer fee out of West Ham at the eleventh hour but at £1.65m it’s a disappointment to many considering £6m was offered in August. Now, it’s not as black and white as that but ultimately it was a good thing for everyone involved that he went. We can move on and progress without him and McInnes doesn’t have to answer the same question every week in pre- and post-match interviews.

How has Neil Kilkenny been getting on at Ashton Gate since he left Leeds in the summer?

Very up and down, as many at Elland Road told us he would be. He started quietly but saying that Millen played a direct style of football so it largely passed a short, passmaster in the centre of the pitch. Much of the game seemed to pass him by. McInnes came in and instantly made him the fulcrum and he put in a series of majestic performances, truly inspiring and helped us to win four out of five.

Since then he’s often sat too deep, and this contrast was shown up in our last home match against Doncaster where for 45 minutes he looked like he could play at the highest level, probing, moving the ball quickly, taking the whole team up the pitch. A 2-0 lead by half-time meant he retreated in the second half and, sitting too deep, he tended to slow the play down, gave their midfield time and space to play and the tide of the game turned.

In summary, I think he could be a brilliant and vital cog but needs a midfield built around him to get the best out of him.

Where are you expecting to finish this season?

Considering where we were in October then anything 21st or above is a bonus, but realistically now it would be a touch disappointing to not be nestled in mid-table come May.

If you could sign any current Leeds player, who would it be?

Robert Snodgrass is the obvious answer I suppose but his ambitions are considerably higher than Bristol! Ross McCormack scores regularly against us so at least if we had him on our side that should be harder!

Finally, what’s your prediction for the game?

Before you sacked Grayson this week I was confident of a home win but manager changes can do funny things for people and I’m concerned the players might want to impress. I’ll go for a 1-1 draw now.

Thanks to Vivek Arulnathan from Welcome To The Gunner’s Town for taking part.

It’s just like 2011 all over again, what was your reaction when you saw that Leeds would be coming to The Emirates in The FA Cup once again?

Teams from the lower leagues are really dangerous especially in these early stages of the competition and I was hoping we could draw one of the teams fighting for relegation in the Premier League. But given the current spate of injuries in the Leeds squad, I am pleased with the draw as it will give Wenger the option to rest some of his key players after the hectic schedule in December.

Do you think The FA Cup is a big priority for Arsenal this year?

If it wasn’t for our horrible form early on, Wenger would have certainly seen the FA Cup as an achievable target. But due to that poor start, Arsenal are completely focused on the league as they chase that crucial fourth spot. So Arsenal will not sweat too much over the FA Cup, for this season at least. This is evident from how Van Persie was left out of the squad even against Manchester City in the League Cup. Champions League action next year is crucial for this club to go forward and I am sure Wenger feels the same as well.

Thierry Henry is available to make his return on Monday night, what do you make of him coming back to Arsenal?

Being a club legend, he is always welcome at the club. Henry is without question Arsenal’s greatest player and his return will be an emotional rollercoaster for both him and the fans as well. I don’t see him making a huge difference on the field as his old legs have lost the turn of pace that helped him in terrorizing defenses in his first spell. His presence on the training field will make a big impact though. His work ethic and training will benefit someone like Walcott who idolizes the Frenchman. But most importantly, Henry’s presence will help the squad realize the pride in wearing the red and white of Arsenal.

Do you think he will feature on Monday? Who else should we be looking out for in your team, are you expecting a strong line-up?

Henry will surely play but Wenger hasn’t disclosed whether he’ll start or come off the bench. With Chamakh staying back for a few more days, I expect him to start along with Arshavin and Alex Chamberlain in a three pronged attack. Defensively, Arsenal have limited options due to the spate of injuries so I expect either Koscielny or Mertesacker to partner Squillaci in the centre with Coquelin and Miquel on the flanks. In the middle of the park, Rosicky and Benayoun will certainly start. Park and Henry could start as a deep lying forward if Wenger decides to play a 4-4-2 but that is highly unlikely.

Are there any current Leeds players who you would take at Arsenal?

I am not sure about that but if there are youngsters like Alex Chamberlain in your academy, I’ll assure you that some of Wenger’s scouts will be lurking around the corner!

Finally, what’s your prediction for the game?

I don’t see Leeds going down too easily despite all the injuries. These games bring the best out of them and Arsenal shouldn’t expect an easy win. But with a strong defense set to be fielded by Wenger, Leeds will find it tough to score especially if Koscielny plays. And with Benayoun in midfield pulling the strings, I feel this will be a 1-0 or 2-0 to Arsenal.

This week, The Scratching Shed is pleased to welcome Daniel Wimbush from Reading FC site The Tilehurst End  for a look ahead to this weekend’s clash between Leeds United and Reading.

How’s this season been for you so far?

It’s been up and down as we’ve had to make the adjustments that come from losing your best player (Shane Long), but we’re gradually starting to find some consistency.

After an August win at Leicester we stuttered and lost 5 in a row, culminating in perhaps the worst performance in recent memory at home to Watford. Since then Brian McDermott has signed Adam Le Fondre, Kaspars Gorkks and Joe Mills and we’re looking a half decent team. Results have picked up and after 3 wins from 4 we’re looking up rather than down.

You beat Leeds to a play-off spot last season, do think reaching the play-offs is a realistic target this year for Reading?

It’s certainly a realistic target though I think it might be just beyond us this season. While we’re not a bad side I think there are so many good teams in the division with a lot more resources than us so we might have to make do with a year of consolidation before making a push next season.

Alex McCarthy has been excellent for us on loan so far. Where does he stand at Reading and do you think there would be a possibility of us signing him permanetly?

A lot of Reading fans were calling for McCarthy to start the season as number one and it’s a call that hasn’t really subsided despite Adam Federici having the best season of his career. Most see McCarthy’s potential surpassing our resident Aussie and for that reason feel he should be into the side even if Fedders may be the best option right now. However Brian has remained loyal to those that perform well and with a fairly new defence, keeping an experienced head seems a sensible course right now.

Going forward and I think Federici will be off in the summer giving Alex the chance to start next year as our number one. That being said if yourselves or another club made a big offer with a decent sell on clause that allowed us to strengthen the squad in other areas, the club might accept it and go forward with Federici and Danish U21 international Mikkel Andersen.

Who should we be looking out for on Saturday?

Jimmy Kebe had probably his best game of the season on Saturday and gained national attention with his sock pulling incident. When he’s flying he’s the best winger in this league but when he’s bad he’s fairly awful. Adam Le Fondre is capable of moments of magic and can’t be ignored and you’ll know what Ian Harte is capable of from a set piece.

If you could sign any current Leeds player for Reading, who would it be?

I’d enjoy seeing how Snodgrass would get on at the Madejski he’s a player I’ve always admired and would love us to sign.

Finally, what’s you prediction for the game?

I think it’s going to end 1-1 in a tight game.

This week The Scratching Shed is pleased to welcome Matt Rowson from the Watford FC Blog B Happy for a look ahead to Saturday’s clash.

You’ve had a bit of a mixed start to the season but results seem to have picked up a bit lately. What are your expectations for Watford this year?

Survival is the objective; not very sexy, but we’re on a low budget for the division and that’s the brief. After an iffy start, survival now looks possible; beyond that of course it doesn’t take an awful lot to get within a sniff of the play-offs, but we’d take mid table with both hands.

What do you make of Sean Dyche? Is he the man to take you forward?

He was Malky Mackay’s assistant and appeared to be the continuity candidate when Mackay upped sticks to Cardiff. He confounded that expectation a little by changing tack completely; the attacking football with lots of kids in the team was ditched, and we are now much more defensive and have a more experienced squad. As you’ve noted, results are coming together slowly and we certainly look solid, but I’m disappointed that Dyche chose to change direction and suspect I’m not the only one. Last season was much more fun than fourteenth probably sounds. Dyche is a good honest guy though, you want him to do well.

Marvin Sordell is your top scorer and an England U-21 international. Do you think he will be attracting attention from Premiership clubs in January?

Quite possibly. He’s not there yet… still young, only 20 I think, and a bit raw. His performances are up and down as happens with young kids, but the raw material’s there. He won’t go straight into a Prem team yet, but I can certainly see bigger Championship teams coming in for him.

Who else should we be looking out for in your team on Saturday?

Our stand-out player this season has been Adrian Mariappa at centre-back. A first team player for about 5 years now, he’s settled at CB over the last couple of seasons and has reached a level where it looks rather easy for him most of the time. Quick, disciplined, comfortable on the ball, he’s a prem player and we’ll do well to hang on beyond January. Also Michael Kightly, on loan from Wolves and looking like the player he was before his injury – more effective at home, too.

The Championship 2011/12 – 3 up, 3 down?

Up – West Ham, Cardiff. Ummmm…. Leicester maybe. Last one is open.
Down – I said Cov, Donny and Posh at the start of the season. The first two look decent bets, I hope Posh stay up but a team that scores and ships a lot of goals is always prone to a bad run. So I’ll stick with that.

If you could sign one current Leeds player for Watford, who would it be?

Does John McClelland count? He’s still does the stadium tours? Macca, every day of the week, don’t care how old he is. Failing that, Snodgrass. But we won’t have Leigh Bromby back, thanks all the same.

Finally, what’s your prediction for the game?

Will be tight. Your midfield getting crocked at the weekend won’t hurt us. One all.

Thanks to Mike McCarthy from Fox Blogger for joining us this week

Like Leeds you’ve had a bit of a mixed start to the season, is it fair to say Leicester have underachieved so far considering how much they’ve spent?

I don’t think anyone could seriously contend that Leicester have been anything but disappointing so far. Certainly less than the sum of their vastly expensive parts.

At times the team has looked unstoppable. Impressive home wins have stopped other pretenders in their tracks. But the side has looked ordinary all too often, and at times, truly dreadful (Millwall at home being the nadir so far).

What did you make of the sacking of Sven and who is your personal favourite to replace him?

I was disappointed to see him go. I’m not a fan of sacking managers during the campaign. It’s very rare that a season can be saved by another boss and the season was and is by no means over for Leicester.

There isn’t a Leicester fan who wouldn’t want Martin O’Neill back, but evidence he’s interested has been scant so far.

Of the other contenders mentioned often, Mark Hughes would be a good pick, but I’m hoping the owners are secretly going about trying to persuade Roberto Di Matteo away from the Assistant job at Chelsea. Unfortunately that looks about at likely as O’Neill coming back.

Jermaine Beckford is still a bit of a Leeds legend, what have been your first impressions so far at Leicester?

It’s fair to say he still has a lot of work to do to prove he’s worthy of a place in the side. There’s no doubting his ability, but his willingness (or lack thereof) to get stuck in is highlighted each time he starts alongside David Nugent.

Kasper Schmeicel probably won’t get as warm a reception from the Leeds fans as Beckford, but how’s he been for you so far?

He’s been great. A real presence at the back that was missing last season.

He’s already won Leicester a few points on his own and despite a couple of recent errors, I’ve no doubt he’ll be a key part of Leicester’s promotion campaign as the season progresses.

Who else should we be looking out for in your team on Sunday?

Watch out for Lee Peltier, a summer signing from Huddersfield, who is doing an excellent job of filling the right-back void left in the summer. Kyle Naughton understandably chose the Premier League with Norwich ahead of another season in the Championship, but Peltier offers a good attacking instincts and is solid in the challenge.

If you could sign one current Leeds player for Leicester, who would it be?

Ross McCormack isn’t bad, is he.

Finally, what’s your prediction for the game?

A home win, but both sides are likely to find the net. 2-1 Leicester.

Thanks to Chris Walker from Up The Pool for taking part.

You’ve had a bit of a hit and miss start to the season, what have you made of life back in The Championship so far?

We started fairly well, winning our first two games and losing only one of the first seven. That probably raised expectations a little too high, with many fans believing a play-off place was a strong possibility.

Lately though things have begun to go awry and the large size of the squad hasn’t helped. Ian Holloway has brought in a lot of players, but keeping them all happy is proving difficult and you get the feeling he hasn’t yet decided what his best team is.

Having lost three of the last four matches, we’re in a bit of a rut right now and everyone’s suddenly feeling sorry for themselves. The hangover of relegation finally seems to have kicked in and things need to turn around quickly to avoid a disappointing season.

Where do you realistically expect to finish this season?

Before the season I thought a finish between 8th and 12th was the most likely outcome and that’s probably still the case. It would take a few big signings I think for us to make a genuine play-off push, but we should have enough in the squad to prevent being dragged towards the bottom of the table.

Kevin Phillips has been scoring goals for fun so far but who else should we be looking out for in your team on Wednesday night?

It’s hard to say really. Phillips always has a goal in him, but has looked a bit fatigued lately – hardly a surprise given the number of minutes the 38 year old has been asked to play so far this season. Elsewhere, Gary Taylor-Fletcher is a goal threat but looks like missing the game through injury. The two to watch tonight are perhaps the youngsters Tom Ince and Callum McManaman, both of whom are tricky wide players.

It’s a bit of a trek up to Leeds for a midweek game for your fans, should we be expecting a decent turnout at Elland Road?

In the right circumstances, I’m confident we could have taken 3,000, but it looks like being just over half of that. A few things will have put people off – the fact it’s midweek, the cost of the tickets (£34!) and recent poor form will have taken around 1,000 or so off the travelling support. It will be a new ground for a lot of ‘Pool fans though, with our two sides having not met for a generation.

If you could sign one current Leeds player for Blackpool, who would it be?

Robert Snodgrass. He’s really come on in his time at Leeds and is the sort of direct player we could do with. Ironically, we actually turned him down a few years back when none other than Simon Grayson was in charge at Bloomfield Road. Snodgrass came down from Livingston for a trial but didn’t impress Grayson enough to win a contract.

Finally, what’s your prediction for the game?

It’s hard to be positive with our recent form, so the best I think we can hope for is a draw. Despite not being as attacking as last season, we do always have a goal or two in us, but at the same time can easily let a few in. I’ll go for 2-2.

If you’re not at the game tonight, check out The Revie Way – a new social network specifically designed for Leeds United fans – where they’ll be running a live chat for Whites fans from 7pm.