Leeds United will be hoping that the spice of a Yorkshire derby is enough to spark them into life when they take on bitter rivals Huddersfield Town at the John Smith's Stadium on Saturday.

The Whites have suffered a typically tumultuous week, with Massimo Cellino's short but eventful reign as president coming to an end following his rejected appeal against the Football League's decision to disqualify his ownership of the club.

They will be painfully used to such off-field dramas by now, and Saturday's derby could either be the perfect tonic for the situation or the worst possible fixture to face at such a time.

In a season of mostly low points, Leeds will be looking to rekindle the highlight of their campaign so far, which saw them cruise to a 3-0 victory over the Terriers at Elland Road back in September.

They had won just twice in the 19 matches following that victory before last Tuesday, when they staved off the immediate threat of the bottom three with a shock triumph over league leaders Bournemouth, completing the double over the Cherries.

That made it three games unbeaten for Leeds, their best run since Neil Redfearn's stint as caretaker manager came to an end, but they are far from safety just yet.

Just five points separate them from the relegation zone, and they continue to struggle badly away from Elland Road. Only Blackpool have amassed fewer points on their travels this season, with Leeds winning just one of their 15 away outings in all competitions.

That is something that simply must improve, and there wouldn't be many better places for them to do so than at the John Smith's Stadium. Leeds are bidding for their third consecutive victory over Town, a feat they have not achieved since October 1946.

Redfearn will have new loan signing Sol Bamba available for selection, and he could feature should Jason Pearce be left out due to the ongoing speculation around his future.

Steve Morison is also available despite picking up a knock in the win over Bournemouth, but Giuseppe Bellusci will definitely miss out due to suspension.

Huddersfield, meanwhile, are sitting comfortably 10 points clear of the bottom three thanks to their 1-0 victory over struggling Wigan Athletic last time out, and they will be confident of piling more misery on Leeds's season.

The Terriers have lost just one of their last 10 home league games and have only been beaten once on their own turf by Leeds in their last 12 visits.

The early kickoff means that Huddersfield would climb all the way up to 10th in the table for a few hours at least with a victory, which would be their fourth in five league games.

Chris Powell only has one injury concern too, with Jon Hogg unlikely to be fit in time for the derby. David Edgar, however, is expected to continue in midfield after impressing on his debut last time out.

Huddersfield:

Form in Championship: LDWWLW
Form in all competitions: DWLWLW

Possible starting lineup: Smithies; Smith, Hudson, Lynch, Robinson; Butterfield, Coady, Edgar; Wells, Vaughan, Scannell

Leeds:

Form in Championship: DLLDDW
Form in all competitions: LLLDDW

Possible starting lineup: Silvestri; Byram, Cooper, Pearce, Taylor; Cook, Mowatt, Austin, Murphy; Morison, Antenucci

Sports Mole says: 2-2