Leeds have had some good news on the injury front this week, but we can still expect a tough game at home to Middlesbrough tomorrow.

Ross McCormack should have recovered from the hamstring injury which kept him out of Scotland’s friendly in midweek, and hopefully will be able to pick up where he left off at Charlton. Byram, Mowatt and Warnock have also recovered from various injury problems, but Scott Wootton is one who won’t be fit, so Marius Zaliukas could make his first start for the club. El-Hadji Diouf will still be kept out by illness.

Paddy Kenny has been telling the official site how much the mood in the squad has improved since last season, and this from a player who was one of Neil Warnock’s favourite players and followed our former boss to several different clubs. But he’s enjoying life under Warnock’s replacement and said “I think everyone is enjoying coming in. I think the recent results help and there is a good buzz around the place. We’ll be looking to put a run together and put some pressure on the teams above us.”

Before the international break Leeds managed to win two games in a row with winds over Yeovil and Charlton, which hasn’t happened for a while. Leeds will want to build on that momentum, but it won’t be easy to get a third consecutive win tomorrow, despite Boro’s disappointing 16th position in the table, with only one away win all season. The reason of course is that those results led to the sacking of Tony Mowbray, so once again we are facing a side keen to impress their new manager.

Brian McDermott was full of praise for their new boss, former Real Madrid assistant manager Aitor Karanka. “I’ve listened to and seen some of his interviews and with the way he has spoken you can tell he is a real football man. The last time he came to Elland Road he was in the Real Madrid squad when they beat Leeds in the Champions League. So he has got a great CV. I like the way he speaks, you can see he is going to do well for Middlesbrough.”

The 40-year-old was appointed 10 days ago, but this will be his first game in charge as he had to wait for the end of the international break. Karanka said "I'm happy my first match is against a big club (we’re not famous any more!) with large support that will hopefully mean we have a lot of our fans there too. Hopefully the fans are as excited as I am. This is a new era - a fresh start. "We've had 10 days of good training and now we can test how much the players have taken on from us."

Jonathan Woodgate could join his manager in making a return to Elland Road if recovers from yet another injury problem, this time a groin injury. His fellow defender Seb Hines is Boro’s other doubt and faces a late fitness test to assess whether his hamstring will stand up to the strain of playing the game.

It’s bound to be a tight game, but I’m tipping Leeds to come out on top by the odd goal.

Photo: Action Images

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