Leeds United face Stoke City on Sunday in the opening round of Championship fixtures.
Stoke are 5/1 (6.0) favourites for the Championship title with SportPesa, with the West Yorkshire outfit being fifth in the list at 11/1 (12.0); both would be disappointed not to be in the top six come May, which makes this a fascinating opener.
Latest odds
Leeds finished 2017-18 unbeaten in four at home and will be hopeful of either recording a victory, priced at 17/10 (2.7), or getting a point, 9/4 (3.25).
The last time Stoke were in the same league as Leeds was in 2006-07 when they did the double over them, including a 4-0 win at Elland Road, and the away win is priced at 17/10 (2.7).
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Team News
Oghenekaro Etebo looked excellent for Nigeria at the World Cup and Gary Rowett will be excited to hand the energetic midfielder his debut in what could be a 4-1-4-1 formation.
Next Match
Striker Patrick Bamford has joined from Middlesbrough, although Kemar Roofe might have given Bielsa a dilemma after scoring in the false nine role in the friendly with Las Palmas.
The formation is likely to frequently change, but we could see a 3-3-1-3 formation with loanees Lewis Baker and Jack Harrison also set to start.
Edmondson to score?
Highly-rated academy graduate Ryan Edmondson wasn’t included in Leeds’ squad for the latest Under-23s match, which suggests he is part of Bielsa’s immediate plans after bagging twice in pre-season.
He therefore may feature here and looks a decent last goalscorer option at 7/1 (8.0).
Preview and predictions
In Gary Rowett’s last 85 away games as a manager, his teams have scored a combined 91 goals; relatively few, considering his teams have always been in the top 10 in that time.
It’s possible that he will see this match as the toughest of the month and therefore set his team up in a way that might interfere with their attacking fluidity, making the 39/20 (2.95) on the Potters failing to bag good value.
Stoke not to score 39/20 (2.95) with SportPesa 
