Today Leeds travel the relatively short distance from Elland Road to Barnsley’s Oakwell Stadium as West and South Yorkshire clash.
This afternoon’s late kick-off sees the third-placed Whites take on tenth-placed Red in a tie that both sides will be hoping doesn’t leave them feeling pink. Leeds United are on a good run of performances and form that sees them deservedly in the mix for the promotion places.
Conversely though, Barnsley have been on the slide a little, their early-season form and good position in the table being eroded somewhat in a fall that has seen them drop to tenth in the Sky Bet Championship table.
Ahead of kick-off, here’s three players who can make a difference for the Whites vs the Tykes. First up is one of the men at the back.
Kyle Bartley
Bartley has been something of a mountain and defensive rock since signing on a season-long loan from Premier League side Swansea. Alongside striker Souleymane Doukara, the imposing centre-back is Leeds United’s joint-second leading scorer with four goals.
The strength and cohesion that he brings to the Leeds United back four is most prominent when partnered with regular partner Pontus Jansson, but he also helped pull the side together against Derby with Jansson serving the first of his two-game suspension for totting up 10 yellow card.
However, as his four-goal haul suggests, Bartley is equally as dangerous at the other end of the field, especially at set pieces such as corners and free-kicks. It would have been five for the season had he have been a striker with a deft touch against Derby where he stole in at the far post and attempted to smuggle the ball over the line – succeeding only in seeing it past the post.
