Neil Warnock has warned his players to expect a tough game when we visit Peterborough United tomorrow, even though the Posh have lost both of their games so far.

Leeds have no new injury problems for the game, as Lee Peltier is expected to recover from the knock he picked up at Blackpool, although we now know that Paul Green is expected to be out for up to six weeks with his knee injury. But even though he has nearly a full squad to choose from, Neil Warnock is determined to ensure there is no complacency as we prepare for the game.

After finishing 18th in the table last season Peterborough were expected to struggle once again, not least because they have one of the smallest budgets of any of the clubs in the Championship, so it’s no surprise they have been the only club in the division to have lost both of their games so far. But Warnock told the official site “Can you imagine Peterborough in the dressing room on Saturday? They will be dying to get some points on the board”.

“I think this will be our most difficult game so far, because of what's at stake. They have some good players when you look at the likes of George Boyd and some of the others. I've been in the situation they're in and I know what they're going through. If anyone thinks it will be easy they can forget that. We had a good start on Tuesday which we looked to build on. Unfortunately we couldn't do that, but the games come thick and fast so we'll go to Peterborough and hopefully get it back on track.”

Meanwhile Darren Ferguson is also keen to raise his players for the game, and proved once again that Leeds really aren’t famous any more. He told the Peterborough Telegraph “Leeds at home is always one of the biggest fixtures of the season in the Championship. It was a great game down here last season when we got pipped right at the end. That match was like a cup tie and I don’t mind one bit if Saturday’s game is like that as well.”

And he will be asking his side to match our workrate. “The one thing you know about Neil Warnock’s teams is that they will have high energy and effort. They will come here and work really hard. We have to overcome that and play our football far better than we did the other night against Millwall.” Peterborough will give a late fitness test to Tyrone Barnett (hamstring) who is yet to play this season, although his fellow striker Emile Sinclair has recovered from an ankle problem and played 45 minutes against Millwall in midweek.

And it’s no surprise that the will be a large police presence will be in Peterborough city centre, not least because the beer festival will be taking place just the other side of the river from London Road. Chief Inspector Nick Knight said: “We have a policing plan in place for the game which will involve around 100 officers, including public order trained officers and dog handlers. The reason we did not ask for the game to be brought forward was because of the beer festival. A 3pm kick off is preferable when compared with a lunchtime or 5pm start which is more likely to have impacted on the festival.”

So we’d better behave then. As for the game itself, I’m going to predict that Leeds will be too strong for the home side and we will get our first away win of the season.

Photo: Action Images

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