Leeds vs Hull Prediction: DJ to play same song on Saturday

First-round exits in the Carabao Cup earlier this month ensured that Leeds United and Hull City have had a full week to prepare for their EFL Championship clash at Elland Road on Saturday (15:00).

Read below for my Leeds vs Hull prediction and all the latest team news ahead of this weekend's Yorkshire derby between the Whites and Tigers.

Team News

Leeds have lost plenty of key players during the summer transfer window but finally, the exit door has stayed shut for a while, and instead, the arrivals entrance has been a bit busier. Largie Ramazani and Manor Solomon (loan) have arrived from Almeria and Tottenham Hotspur respectively to add more quality in attack, and the duo could make their debuts on Saturday, although substituting outings appear more realistic for both than starts.

Head coach Daniel Farke could opt to name an unchanged starting XI from the one that beat Sheffield Wednesday 2-0 at Hillsborough last Friday, with Mateo Joseph, Wilfried Gnonto, Brenden Aaronson and Daniel James keeping their places in attack.

Patrick Bamford remains a doubt after pulling up with a hamstring issue in training late last week, while Max Wober - who also sat out the victory against the Owls - has a calf complaint.

Ao Tanaka of Fortuna Dusseldorf landed at Leeds-Bradford Airport on Thursday morning, but it remains to be seen whether he will be registered in time to feature this weekend.

Football Odds

Harvey Cartwright and Ryan Longman are yet to feature in a Hull squad this season and their respective injuries look set to keep them sidelined again on Saturday.

The Tigers could hand a debut to Bayer Leverkusen loanee Gustavo Puerta, who joined from the reigning Bundesliga champions on Tuesday. The 21-year-old Colombian hasn't played any competitive football this season and last featured in a pre-season friendly defeat against Arsenal on August 7, so it's unlikely he will start at Elland Road.

Charlie Hughes is also looking to make his debut after being left on the bench for both games since moving from Wigan Athletic midway through the month.

Leeds vs Hull Odds

*Please click on the link above to be taken to the main Leeds vs Hull page on betfred.com (or app) for all the live betting prices on this match.

Leeds are 3/10 to beat Hull at home for the second season running - the Whites won this fixture 3-1 in April - giving them an implied win probability of 76.9%, while the Tigers are 7/1, or a 12.5% chance, to grab their first victory of the new campaign.

Hull held their Yorkshire rivals to a goalless draw on Humberside last September and you can get 18/5 for another draw between the sides on Saturday.

Both teams to score can be backed at 10/11 and over 2.5 total goals is priced at 4/7.

Bamford (5/4) is favourite to score anytime, while Oscar Estupinan (3/1) is the most-fancied to net for Hull.

Anytime Scorer - Daniel James @ 9/5

Much was made of Leeds' striking options at the start of the season, but after three Championship matches and one in the Carabao Cup, none of Joseph, Bamford, Joel Piroe or Joe Gelhardt have got off the mark.

Instead, it has been left to those operating just behind them, with Aaronson (x2), Gnonto and James responsible for 80 per cent of the Whites' strikes so far this term - defender Pascal Struijk scored the other from the penalty spot.

As Leeds' top scorer, Aaronson (2/1) is a tempting option in the anytime scorer market on Saturday, while Gnonto (7/5) is another viable option.

However, I'm going to back James to net in back-to-back contests after he struck his side's second and final goal of the game against Sheffield Wednesday last Friday.

The 26-year-old Wales international struck just after half-time to put the Whites into a commanding position at Hillsborough, and it proved to be a killer for the hosts as they struggled to get back into the contest.

James scored 13 times in the Championship last season but was largely overlooked as the likes of Crysencio Summerville and Georginio Rutter took centre stage.

However, with the duo having departed for the Premier League over the summer, and recent arrival Ramazani only just getting his feet wet, the onus is on the likes of James to step up and produce for Leeds in the big games, and this Saturday's contest fits the bill.

The ex-Manchester United man found the net in the corresponding fixture last season, striking in the seventh minute of second-half added time to make it 3-1 for Farke's side at Elland Road, and I fancy his chances of the Hull-born winger - who spent eight years in the City academy - bagging in back-to-back games against his hometown club.

Match Result & Total Goals Over/Under 2.5 - Leeds Win & Under 2.5 Goals @ 13/5

It's not been a thrilling start to the season for Hull supporters - or indeed those who have tuned in to watch the Tigers for whatever reason. The East Yorkshire club has drawn all three of its Championship matches this term and exited the Carabao Cup at the hands of Sheffield Wednesday.

There were three goals in Hull's cup defeat to their Yorkshire rivals, with the Owls emerging 2-1 winners at the MKM Stadium, but none of their three league games have seen more than two goals. The Tigers began the 2024/25 Championship campaign with back-to-back 1-1 draws with Bristol City (H) and Plymouth Argyle (A) before being held to a goalless draw on Humberside by Millwall last Saturday.

Hull struck 68 goals across 46 Championship outings last term but the summer departures of their five top scorers - Jaden Philogene (12), Ozan Tufan (10), Fabio Carvalho (nine), Liam Delap and Aaron Connolly (both eight) - have hit them hard. That's 47 goals out of the side - 69.1 per cent of last season's total - which is not easily replaced.

Mason Burstow made his full debut for Hull last weekend but the 21-year-old Chelsea loanee only scored once in 20 Championship appearances for Sunderland last year and will need more help from Liam Millar and Abdulkadir Omur than he got against Argyle.

Offers

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