Leeds will be back to full strength tomorrow, and even though Orient seem to be running out of form, Dennis Wise is still predicting a tough game.

Wise told the official site "The last two games they haven't done so well, but they are a very organised team and Martin Ling has done a good job there. If you see the five goals they conceded last week two were goalkeeping mistakes and the other three were worldies - fantastic strikes - but the overall game was tight. It's about winning individual battles, and I hope my lot will come out on top.”

Wise is expected to go back to the side who beat Yeovil last Saturday, even though several of the fringe players gave a good account of themselves in the JPT win at Darlington. The only enforced change is to find a replacement for Jonathan Douglas, who is away on international duty with the Republic of Ireland. There are several options as to who can replace him, as the boss could recall Alan Thompson or Jonny Howson, but my preferred option would be for him to play Hughes and Prutton in midfield, while switching Carole to wide right and giving Da Costa a game on the left. But Wise was giving nothing away, saying “We know who's going to step in, but you'll have to wait and see. We have to make sure who does it takes over from Dougie."

But the manager wasn’t being so coy about the League’s choice of referee, as the man in charge will be Nigel Miller, who we last saw at our away game at Southend last season. On that occasion wise was fined £1,500 by the FA after an outburst when Mr. Miller failed to give us a last minute penalty. He told the Yorkshire Post "I am very disappointed that we have got him, but that is the way it is sometimes. Hopefully, he will do a good job. I hope he doesn't hold grudges and I hope he referees very professionally and does the right thing." The Professional Game Match Officials (PGMO) board rejected Wise's plea to change the official. A spokesman said: "The appointment process is run independently of clubs and appointments are only changed in instances where a referee is ill, injured, or there is a disciplinary case pending." At least we won’t have a repeat of that pillock we had at Gillingham, who was far worse.

We could be playing Orient at the right time, as they have slumped since they topped the table at the start of the season, with three defeats in their last four league games, including an incredible 5-0 hammering at home to Swansea last Saturday. But their boss Martin Ling was still upbeat when he spoke to his club’s official website. “We have been below where we want to be in the last couple of weeks, but our away record is excellent - we've taken 12 points from 15 games - so that' will stand us in good stead. It's a big stage to play on and I'm sure my players are looking forward to stepping up to the plate”. And he promised that he will treat us to a more attacking performance than Yeovil managed last week. "Teams that have gone there and put men behind the ball haven't been successful and that's not something we're going to do. We won't be going gung-ho, but I won't change the style of our game to accommodate Leeds."

Ling will have a couple of injury problems to sort out before kick-off, as Midfielder Wayne Corden is struggling with a shin injury and defender Alton Thelwell has a hamstring problem, so the pair will be given late fitness checks. Back-up goalkeeper Glenn Morris suffered a thigh injury against Dagenham in the Johnstone's Paint Trophy in midweek and will not travel. Young striker Raphael Sylvester is still out with a hamstring problem and defender Clayton Fortune is recovering from a dislocated shoulder, so this pair will also be missing.

 We may not give the O’s another trouncing, but I’m confident that Leeds will pull off yet another narrow victory, and continue the long march up the table.  

Photo: Action Images via Reuters