Leeds United were a bit of a bogey side for us last year and beat us twice both against the run of play, can Saints break that hoodoo and earn their first win of the season, Ralph Hasenhuttl might find that adversity actually wins the day.

Last season Saints lost twice to Leeds United, the first game at Elland Road saw us dominate the first half and a lead wiped out due to a controversial decision that saw us take a quick free kick with the referee's permission and put the ball in the net only for it to be overturned with the ref claiming Leeds weren't ready.

In the second half we got caught on the break straight after the break and then saw Oriol Romeu break his ankle on a pitch that was unstable and quite frankly dangerous at a time when we were pushing hard for an equaliser.

Two late goals sealed a 3-0 win for the home side, but the result did not reflect the pattern of the game and Saints had two pieces of bad luck and inept refereeing that epitomised what was happening at the time.

When the Peacocks (Do they still have that nickname or is it just Dirty Leeds these days) arrived at St Mary's it was a similar story, Saints had plenty of possession and more attempts at goal, but a goal on 73 minutes saw us fall behind and then as we chased an equaliser the visitors broke and scored a second.

I'm not complaining about the fact they won, in truth praise should be given for the way that they took their chances, they played the way they play and did it well, I have no complaints about Leeds in either game, they deserved their wins because they held firm, had a bit of luck when needed and took their chances, something that we failed too often to do last season.

But this is a new season and although we have tightened up at the back, that has been at the expense of scoring goals, although we have been creating chances we have not been taking them.

Ralph Hasenhuttl's hand though will be forced this weekend by two player missing, in midfield we will be without James Ward Prowse, out of the starting line up for the first time since soon after Ralph's arrival some 2 year and 10 months ago.

This will more than likely see Ibrahima Diallo come into the side and with Diallo being a more defensive player than JWP it could signal a change in formation in the side, either to a back 3 or to 5 man midfield, Ralph has options to do either.

But I suspect to start he will stick to his more usual 4-4-2, but that could change mid game.

If he does stick to that then he has several decisions to make.

In the defence he will stick to Bednarek & Salisu in the centre, but the full back options are less certain, Tino Livramento is a shoe in at right back on form, but with most of the failings going forward being the wide players, again I would like to see Tino pushed into a midfield role with KWP in his normal right back position, Romain Perraud playing on the left.

In the midfield I think it will be Diallo and Romeu who will start, but who will play out wide, there will be a clamour for Stuart Armstrong to return, but I would say that with no competitive game time due to injury and not having played a match of any kind for something like 10 weeks, he will be better deployed off the bench.

Personally I would like to see Livramento and Nathan Redmond deployed out wide.

Redmond will not be the popular choice, but he Elyounoussi and Djenepo have all had virtually the same game time in the Premier League this season and like it or not Redmond has influenced games more than any of the either two, he might be inconsistent of late, but as he showed at Newcastle he is the only one who has end product, the problem is creating chances for the strikers and in that respect he is the man more than any who has delivered.

Up front Che Adams looks set to be missing and this gives Ralph a chance to give Armando Broja his first start in the Premier League for Saints.

In truth Broja is perhaps better suited to our style of play than either Che Adams or Adam Armstrong, we rely on the wide player getting down the wing and getting crosses into the box, both Adams and Adam Armstrong are more channel runners.

Broja has the height to win aerial balls, I think he could be a key man against Leeds, he comes back from International duty having come on as a 66th minute substitute against Hungary and scoring the only goal of the game, for the second game he came on in the 60th minute, so the good news for Saints is that he should not be too tired and he will be chomping at the bit.

The real key though is not to play into Leeds hands, they like Wolves are a side who like to sit deep and go quickly on the break as we found out last season, we have to be organised and counter that, we did so in the main against Wolves in our last home game, but they still caught us out twice and we paid the price on one occasion.

Leeds had a good season last season, but are they a good side ? They play to a pattern that involves breaking quickly and fast, they know only one way to play and this season they have been found out a little in this respect.

They have not been so tight at the back and with 14 goals conceded only Newcastle & Norwich have let in more, we have to exploit this and then make sure we control the game and don't do our usual trick of pouring forward and getting caught on the break, we have to be organised and patient.

A big game for both clubs, a game that will go a long way to pointing the direction both of our seasons will go, from our perspective we need a win, it does not matter how we achieve it we just have to win.

We need to keep up the support from the stands and keep our side going, Leeds will have a noisy crowd who will make a lot of noise and stay behind them, we need to match that.

Going to football is about enjoyment, we have all lost 18 months of our football supporting careers, personally I go to football to enjoy myself and support my team, it is not always about winning, it is about the occasion and the game.

Go on Saturday be loud and be proud of your team and your club, Leeds have endured long periods of being out of the Premier League and under achievement, but during those periods their fans were able to split up the difference between supporting the club and supporting the owners, lets all kick in the same direction when we play games of football.

Photo: Action Images

highfield49 added 10:58 - Oct 15 It seems as though Lee Mason is the VAR official tomorrow, so at least we won't have to worry about Mike Dean's influence on the game. Optimistically, there won't be any controversial decisions and, hopefully, Broja will step up to the plate to help us get three much needed points. Let's get right behind the players selected and not get on the back of any individual, whatever our view of their ability.

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Colburn added 12:15 - Oct 15 I understand the clamour for pushing Livramento into midfield but I'm not sure if that would be the best for him and us just yet. He is only 18, learning his trade and his defensive abilities seem stronger than KWP's so perhaps this aspect is too important to push him forward. I wonder if KWP could play in front of Livramento, given his pace over a short distance and what he showed in attack when on loan with us. I would rather see Tella in the no.10 spot with Armstrong who has been sorely missed and should be able to give 65-70 mins. Tella will have more space to run at the Leeds defence than in previous games and has shown more than Redmond as a threat, although Redmond had a good half against Newcastle, he has done little else in the other games. Djenepo will work harder, something vital against Leeds and Elyonoussi has been finding the net for his country as well as his goals for us and we need goals, something neither Redmond or Djenepo have produced given their ability. I still believe that Redmond is at his best playing centrally and not on the wing but Ralph doesn't play with genuine no.10s.. Whatever the team selection, let's just hope we can grab the three points and then we can chuckle when you tell everyone how wrong they are after finally winning a game and Redmond finally finding the net..!

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davidargyll added 16:00 - Oct 15 Unless I am completely blind, the one thing we DON’T do enough of is cross the ball into the box, cut backs from the byline and plays through the middle, yes, but crosses are as rare as rocking horse sh*t. If we did get a few more aerial crosses in, well whoopeedoo, but pigs are going to have start growing some pretty big wings before that happens. That said there is one person who does seem to be able to do aerial crosses and that is Tino. Oh that we could get the others to do it.

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halftimeorange added 19:16 - Oct 15 "Broja is perhaps better suited to our style of play than either Che Adams or Adam Armstrong" says the article. If that is so then why on earth did we sign them? Personally, I think that Armstrong A might get to feed off Broja. It is just as likely, however, that Ralph could start Shane Long up front. Only Ralph knows but, we'll know more about him and his tactics if tomorrow goes against us. Btw, after Mike Dean, Lee Mason runs a good second in terms of ludicrous decisions.

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highfield49 added 11:14 - Oct 16 Couldn't agree more halftimeorange, my comment about Lee Mason was intended to be ironic, I have no expectation other than he'll come up with some disastrous influence on the result today!
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