Simon Grayson is expected to rest one or two key players for tonights League Cup tie against Doncaster Rovers at the Keepmoat, but he is still going to take the game seriously.

Grayson told the official site “We’ll have one or two people coming into the team because they might need an opportunity to play. We’ll see where everyone is (in terms of fitness) but it’s a game we want to win, and then we can concentrate on Ipswich after that.” So Ramon Nunez and Lloyd Sam are likely to get a start, as well as Andy O’Brien and Paul Connolly, while Michael Brown will also play if he recovers from his calf problem. Only a cynic would think that Max Gradel will be left out so that he isn’t cup-tied if he gets transferred…

But although one or two fringe players will be getting a game, the manager isn’t taking things easy.  "Every time we play a derby there is something at stake. Whether it's an important three points, cup progress, or bragging rights, there's something there and this will be the same. They will be looking to get back to winning ways and will see a derby match cup tie as a stage. We know they are a good footballing team, but we're looking to progress."

While Leeds’ form has recovered in the last two games, Doncaster remain rooted to the bottom of the Championship, having lost all four of their games so far. Since they reached the Championship at our expense in the 2008 play-off final they have done well to stay in the division despite their lack of resources compared to most other clubs at this level, but this might be the season they’re not going to make it. 

They are currently struggling with quite a few injuries, as Billy Sharp, Ryan Mason, James Chambers and Martin Woods are all out while on-loan duo Reece Brown and Milan Lalkovic are ineligible. But on the plus side for them, Brian Stock, Shelton Martis, James Hayter and James O’Connor have all returned to training from injury and may come into contention.  One player who should be playing for them is our beloved old boy Richard Naylor, who joined the South Yorkshire mob after being released by Leeds during the summer.

Despite his problems, Doncaster manager Sean O'Driscoll was sounding upbeat about the game when he spoke to his club’s official website. "If you're going to get through to the second round it's as good a draw as you could possibly hope for. It's a local derby and a game that will capture the imagination of the fans. It's a difficult game for us at this particular time with the situation we're in, but I'd rather have this type of game than one that we're expected to win, where there's a bit of pressure on us.”

But in the circumstances I think that Leeds will have too much for Doncaster, even with a couple of fringe players in the side, so I think we’ll get through to the third round by a couple of goals.

Photo: Action Images

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