Sutton United v Leeds: In-form Championship side will avoid slip

Dan Fitch
28 January 2017

Can Garry Monk inspire his Leeds side when they face non-league Sutton United?

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Sutton have the chance to pull off a giant-killing when they take on Leeds, but Dan Fitch thinks that Garry Monk's side will emerge victorious...

"The second-string were good enough to come from behind and beat League Two opposition, so Monk will probably trust them to progress against Sutton."

Back Leeds to win at 1.654/6

Sutton United v Leeds United
Sunday, 14:00
Live on BT Sports 2

Sutton United

Those of you with long memories may recall Sutton United pulling off one of the biggest shocks in FA Cup history, when the then Conference side pulled off a 2-1 victory against Coventry City in 1989.

That Coventry side featured many of the players that had won the cup against Spurs two years before and back then the Midlanders were a permanent fixture in the top flight. Now Sutton have the chance to pull off another FA Cup shock and though Leeds would not make for quite such a notable scalp, it would certainly go down as another famous afternoon at Gander Green Lane.

Sutton knocked AFC Wimbledon out in the third round of the competition, having won 3-1 in an away replay after a 0-0 draw at home. Paul Doswell's side come into this match in pretty good form, despite their lowly position of 15th in the National League. They have now only lost two of their last 11 matches, winning six.

Leeds

Leeds are enjoying their best season in years. Now third, they beat Nottingham Forest 2-0 at Elland Road in midweek and have an eight point cushion protecting themselves from Derby in seventh, just outside the play-off zone.

Garry Monk's team are seven points behind Newcastle and an automatic promotion spot and though it's likelier that they'll have to settle for the lottery of the play-offs, they could capitalise if the Magpies wobble, as they have done a couple of times over the past few weeks.

Monk deserves a huge amount of credit for the transformation he's engineered. Leeds was considered to be something of an impossible job, thanks to their combustible owner Massimo Cellino. Since taking over at Leeds in 2014, the Italian has sacked six managers, but Monk has done well enough that his position has not come under threat.

The former Swansea manager will be without Charlie Taylor and Liam Cooper for the trip to Sutton, but Hadi Sacko could return from injury and Pontus Jansson is available again after suspension.

Match Odds

Leeds are the favourites at 1.654/6, with the draw at 4.03/1 and Sutton out at 5.95/1.

Monk is likely to heavily rotate his side, as he did in the last round against Cambridge, as Leeds have an important League game with Blackburn on Wednesday. On that occasion his second-string were good enough to come from behind and beat League Two opposition, so Monk will probably trust them to progress against Sutton.

The odds of a Leeds win are just about big enough to recommend, but if you wanted to take a risk, the 4.47/2 for the draw half-time/Leeds full-time double result could be worth a try.

Over/Under 2.5 Goals

Overs is the favourite at 1.794/5, with under 2.5 goals out at 2.111/10.

Leeds have kept two clean sheets in their last three games, which may make the unders a decent bet. However, with question marks over the strength of the team that Monk will put out, this is probably a market best avoided until it goes in-play.

To Score

Chris Wood looks excellent value to find the net at 2.01/1. He scored against Nottingham Forest in midweek and now has six goals from his last four appearances.

This run has bolstered the New Zealand international's tally to 20 goals in 31 games this season and if selected, is surely overpriced to add to that total against Sutton. If Wood is named on the bench and doesn't feature, your stake will be returned.

Recommended Bets

Back Leeds to win at 1.654/6
Back Wood to score at 2.01/1

Dan Fitch 2016/17 Season P/L

Staked: 292 pts
Returned: 283.47 pts
P/L: -8.53pts

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