Leeds United will attempt to keep up their recent Championship surge at the City Ground, Boxing Day 12:15 but will have to do it without Michael Tonge who has been forced to go back to Stoke due to the Football League's 93 day emergency loan rule.

The good news is that Neil Warnock has plenty of options to compensate for the loss of the man he calls Tongey, my hunch is it will be Browny or rather Michael Brown who will step into his place.

Leeds survived three games in a week without any major injury woes, Paul Green went off early on Saturday but this was due to a stomach bug so unless he has contracted the dreaded novo virus which has swept the nation, I'd expect him to continue his good run in the side.

Whilst Leeds have recorded five out of six Championship wins to see us surge into eighth, just two points off the playoffs, Forest meanwhile have had a wretched winter with one win in their last five, a 2-0 win over Burnley on the same day Leeds slipped up down the A52 at Derby.

Last season Leeds recorded a magnificent 4-0 win here in an emotion charged performance just days after the tragic passing of Gary Speed. Forest more than attained revenge with the 7-3 romp in March. We recorded a narrow 2-1 win over them in September but given the fact we have not done the double over them for 40 years, maybe the omens aren't good?

The fact is that Leeds need to keep this run going and not succumb to our usual bad habit of coming down with the Christmas decorations. Surely we will have more chance of getting something on the banks of the Trent than the Humber on Saturday.

However I'm going for a 2-2 draw. Forest, who completed their own Arab takeover weeks before our own fiasco have been stung by recent criticism and seen a change of chairmanship will be up for this and although I expect Leeds to be more professional than their fall at Pride Park a point will have to do.

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